PASADENA >> Officials shut down all eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway in Pasadena for three hours Thursday after a big rig hauling a tractor smashed through the center divider, landed on the electrified Metro Gold Line tracks and caught fire.
The crash was reported just before 1 p.m. on the eastbound 210 Freeway at Allen Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball said.
Initial investigation determined the crash, which involved the big rig an a box truck, was triggered when the big rig’s left front tire blew out, CHP Officer Juan Galvan said.
“Both vehicles were travelling eastbound at the time of the collision,” CHP Officer Juan Galvan said. “(The big rig) received a blowout, lost control and collided into the (box truck) and continued into the center divide and onto the tracks, while the other vehicle that was hit lost control, travelled to the right, and collided into the right shoulder sound barrier, ultimately overturning and sliding to a stop, block two of the slow lanes.”
After smashing through the concrete center divider, the out-of-control big rig struck the overhead wires that power the Metro Gold Line, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
“It hit a Gold Line energized pole,” she said. The truck caught fire, but firefighters extinguished the flames within a few minutes, Derderian said.
The driver of the box truck was taken to a hospital with injuries described as serious, but not believed to be life-threatening, Derderian said. The driver of the big rig that ended up on the railroad tracks suffered minor injuries.
All eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway were shut down at the 134 Freeway interchange for about three hours, before the three right lanes of the eastbound freeway were reopened about 4 p.m.
The carpool and two left lanes of the eastbound 210 Freeway were expected to remain closed well into the evening as officials assessed the damage and made repairs, Galvan said.
“Traffic is definitely impacted in both directions,” Derderian said Thursday afternoon. “All the side streets are backed up, too.”
Gold Line services are shut down for the remainder of the day, and possibly as long as 24 hours, between the Lake and Sierra Madre Villa stations, Metro officials said in a written statement. The crash had damaged the trains power system.
“All Pasadena-bound trains will end at Lake Station and turn back to Los Angeles,” according to the Metro statement. “Bus shuttles will replace train service between Lake, Allen and Sierra Madre Villa stations through close of service. Please allow extra time to travel through the affected area.”
Pasadena ARTS buses would honor Metro fares, Metro officials said, adding that Arts Line 40 operates between Sierra Madre Villa, Allen and Memorial Park stations.
Gold line service continued to operate normally between the East Los Angeles and Lake stations, officials said.