A speeding trucker who lost control of his tractor-trailer triggered last year's deadly Interstate 5 pileup in a tunnel near Santa Clarita, according to an investigation that also raised concerns about a possible maintenance failure by the company that owned the truck.
The account, compiled by California Highway Patrol investigators and reflected in a district attorney's memo, offers the first official report of what caused the fiery pileup that severed the state's primary north-south traffic artery for trucks for about a month.
CHP investigators determined that Jose Reyes, 29, was driving at least 65 mph along the rain-slicked freeway when his truck veered left and crashed into a concrete median wall after driving through the tunnel, according to the prosecutor's memo obtained by The Times. The posted speed limit for that stretch of road is 55 mph.
Reyes' crash set off chain-reaction collisions behind him that killed a 6-year-old boy and two adults, and injured 10 others.
A CHP spokeswoman said investigators recommended that Los Angeles County prosecutors file vehicular manslaughter charges against Reyes. But prosecutors declined, citing among their reasons a finding by investigators that the right front brake of Reyes' truck was not in working condition.
The truck's owner, Saia Motor Freight Line Inc., rather than Reyes, was responsible for the vehicle's maintenance, Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Courtney Armendariz wrote in her memo. The prosecutor concluded that a defense expert could easily charge that a faulty brake caused the veering and crash.
A team of CHP investigators is continuing to examine what caused the accident and its findings so far are preliminary.
Thirty-three trucks and one car were involved in the Oct. 12, 2007, accident near the Interstate 5 interchange with the Antelope Valley Freeway.
Once Reyes crashed, his truck blocked southbound lanes about 1,400 to 1,700 feet beyond the tunnel. Several trucks were able to stop in time to avoid hitting him.
But as traffic slowed, other trucks collided near the tunnel exit, leading to the fatal accidents about four to five minutes after Reyes' crash. Flames shot through the 550-foot tunnel, trapping motorists and melting vehicles as temperatures inside soared to about 1,500 degrees.
CHP investigators reconstructed the accident to estimate Reyes' speed. They concluded that the tractor-trailer was traveling too fast as it headed along the curving, wet freeway as Reyes hauled a load of coffee beans from Fresno to Orange.
