Driver killed, one injured when big rig carrying grapes crashes into bridge pillar

SYLMAR, Calif. (FOX 11) - One person was killed and another person injured when a semi crashed into a pillar that supports an overpass and overturned on the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway truck route lanes in Sylmar, prompting the closure of several lanes on two freeways until at least 7 a.m., authorities said Thursday morning.

Firefighters responded to the truck route at the Foothill (210) Freeway connector about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday and located the crashed big rig with two people trapped inside the cab, according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The impact of the crash shifted the truck's load forward, striking the cab and trapping two people inside, he said.

The driver was declared dead at the scene and the other victim was freed from the wreckage of the cab and taken to a hospital in serious condition, Prange said.

The truck was carrying grapes.

The No. 4, 5 and 6 lanes of the Golden State Freeway at the Foothill Freeway connector as well as the truck routes from the southbound Golden State Freeway to the Foothill Freeway and the southbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway to the southbound Golden State Freeway are blocked until at least 7 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. All trucks are being diverted to the eastbound Foothill Freeway.

City News Service contributed to this report