Hit-and-Run May Have Caused 11-Car Pileup on 405 Freeway

A hit-and-run may have caused the 11-car pileup on the northbound 405 Freeway in Seal Beach that snarled traffic this morning, authorities said.

At about 6:10 a.m. the California Highway Patrol received a report of a multiple vehicle collision on the freeway just south of the 605 Freeway, according to Officer Denise Quesada, a CHP spokeswoman.

Quesada said though some parties were injured, the injuries didn’t appear extensive or severe. No fatalities were reported. Officials issued a sigalert and closed at least two lanes at 6:27 a.m. and re-opened them 7:34 a.m.

"Cars were scattered over the H.O.V. (carpool lane) and lanes one and two,” Quesada said. “The log indicates they (officers) were able to push most of the vehicles off the freeway at Palos Verdes.”

Several CHP vehicles responded and at one point there were at least three there at once. The CHP called in the Orange County Fire Authority at 6:16 a.m after an off-duty Long Beach Police officer reported emergency crews may be needed.

Investigators think there may have been a 12th car that caused the incident.

“It looks like it’s possibly being investigated as a hit and run,” Quesada said. "That’s what they (officers) finally coded it as: ‘a hit and run.' They’re coding it a misdemeanor.”

No description of the vehicle that allegedly caused the crash has yet been released.

The CHP investigation into the incident is ongoing, and Quesada said there’s no word when it might finished. According to Quesada, investigations into multiple-car crashes can take a long time because there are multiple witnesses and multiple versions of the event that officers have to sift through.

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