Thread: Trucker's phone call may be clue he's among dead in I-5 pile

A friend tells of a frantic call from Ricardo Cibrian that he was caught in the tunnel -- and then the line went dead. Today, his wife is said to be heading to Mexico to retrieve his dental records.
By Jean-Paul Renaud and Tami Abdollah, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 16, 2007
Trucker Ricardo Cibrian was in a jam. He had just collided into the rear end of a semi-truck in front of him and was immediately hit from behind by another vehicle. He could see that the truck he hit had struck another and that they were both on fire.

Cibrian called a friend from his cellphone to report the accident and to say he was trapped in his truck. The friend told him to try to break the window.

As the friend listened, he heard an explosion and the line went dead.

The phone call was described by Espree Campos, a friend who learned about the call from Cibrian's wife.

Today, Cibrian's wife, Victoria Martinez, was headed to Mexico to retrieve dental records that would confirm her husband was one of three people killed in Friday night's fiery accident on the Golden State Freeway in Santa Clarita, said Campos, who was taking care of the family's two children.

"They told us that they found his body," Campos said.

The man Cibrian called that evening notified Cibrian's wife to tell her she needed to get out to the scene. When she did, there was no sign of her husband.

Authorities today did not identify the victims. Three people were killed and 10 were injured, none critically, in the chain-reaction crash just south of the intersection of Interstate 5 and State Route 14, the Antelope Valley Freeway. Two of those killed were a 38-year-old male driver of a big rig and a 6-year-old boy who was his passenger, said Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie. Earlier, authorities had said an infant was among the victims.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, authorities said.

Officials said the tunnel and truck lanes on southbound I-5 near Santa Clarita would remain closed indefinitely during the investigation into the crash and the tunnel's structural fitness.

Engineers were working around the clock using core samples and investigating the "spalling" effect -- where the concrete has pulled away from the tunnel's steel reinforcement bars -- along the structure's sides, Caltrans spokeswoman Jeanne Bonfilio said.

Morning rush-hour traffic was lighter than usual, coming just hours after authorities reopened the state's major north-south artery after its closure over the weekend.

"We're terribly relieved," said John Lutz, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. He attributed the "much lighter than normal" traffic to people taking alternate routes, leaving earlier or taking the day off from work.

The reopening came sooner than expected.

"They got a surprise this morning, finding the freeway actually open," Lutz said. "Everybody went to bed with bad news and woke up with good news."

Officials had expected the highway to be more congested than usual for southbound commuters, who would have to share their lanes with truckers.

The main lanes on both sides in the Newhall Pass were open as of 3 a.m., but the southbound truck lanes, which include the tunnel, remained closed, said Officer Francisco Villalobos said.

Also closed was the main connector between southbound I-5 and northbound 14, which averages about 6,039 cars daily, Bonfilio said. Officials hoped to reopen it soon, she said.

"The tunnel will be closed indefinitely as they're doing their investigation," Bonfilio said. "There are no [time] estimates at this time."

A 55-mph speed limit was posted on south I-5 this morning for all vehicles, Villalobos said. Typically, the speed limit is 55 mph for trucks, 65 mph for cars.

jp.renaud@latimes.com

tami.abdollah@latimes.com

Times staff writer Matt Lait contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printeditio ... california

I heard today on the radio by more then one trucker they where saying the men missing where criminal aliens with no licensees

True or not the word is going around

SAN DIEGO -- The driver of a cargo truck was taken by surprise on Wednesday morning in San Diego.

"I was going up the hill and whoosh," said Harold, laughing. "I have to go get another truck, though, man."

Harold said the truck was hauling roofing materials and the load was too big.

"That's what I told my boss over there," he said. "I said, 'Man, you got too much on there.' He said, 'Oh, I'll just drive it anyways.' "

Harold said nothing like it had ever happened to him before.



SEE RELATED SLIDE SHOW

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/traffic/14311368/detail.html

CHP looking for missing drivers from I-5 truck accident

California authorities are trying to determine the whereabouts of at least 9 drivers involved in the deadly I-5 tunnel crash.

Ten people injured in the crash were taken to area hospitals, another 10 escaped the flames uninjured, three others, including a 6 year old were killed in the crash. That totals 23 people, but the CHP says 31 vehicles were involved in the crash which leaves at least 9 drivers unaccounted for at this time.

Warren Stanley of the California Highway Patrol, "We have to identify all the vehicles and determine who they belong to and based on registration we can move forward to identify those drivers".

The CHP is hoping the missing drivers will come forward. They think those people might not have driver's licenses or could be illegal immigrants. The tunnel remains closed indefinitely which means more traffic on the southbound lanes of Interstate 5.

Story Created: Oct 16, 2007 at 3:18 PM CDT

VIDEO

http://www.eyeoutforyou.com/news/local/10581202.html

Comments On This Story

Note: Comments reflect the views of readers and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff.

Skip wrote on Oct 16, 2007 4:12 PM:" Not a single comment? That's strange. Why cannot we comment on what other media outlests are already reporting? There goes that agenda thing again. "

Skip wrote on Oct 16, 2007 4:14 PM:" Nine drivers or more not accounted for. Either they died in the crash or they ran away. Now why would they run away from the scene of an accident? Maybe we could look to Escondido for some of the answers, as hit-and runs are fairly common here. "

Adam wrote on Oct 16, 2007 4:26 PM:" gee ........i wonder where they went and why. Strange no comments or speculation here. Doesn't anyone care? "

sverny wrote on Oct 16, 2007 4:54 PM:" Why do I get the feeling that 9 unaccounted-for persons have fled the scene of this horrendous accident because they were cheap wage illegal aliens hired to drive trucks??? You will never find them. The probably already have new jobs and are on the road again and why doesn't any news media bring up this possible explanation? "

Bowman wrote on Oct 16, 2007 5:51 PM:" I don't think it was a Mexican truck, I think it was an American truck driven by an illegal Mexican. Of course I am half guessing, it is just a gut feeling I have. Now the problem is we will have to deduce the answer ourselves, the press sure as heck won't tell us. "


Skip wrote on Oct 17, 2007 8:15 PM:" Thirty random trucks in an accident and 9 drivers are unaccounted for. Could the real story here be that the trucking industry, just like the construction industry is being invaded by Illegals. Guess it does not really matter if Mexican trucks come here or not as they are already here. What possible explanation can you come up with as to why 1/3 of the drivers cannot be accounted for? We already know that the records for one deceased driver had to come from Mexico. The CHP is hoping the missing drivers will come forward. They think those people might not have driver's licenses or could be illegal immigrants. Now the hard question to ask is there unlicensed and untrained drivers driving big rigs on our highways and what impact will this have on safety. "

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Today, his wife is said to be heading to Mexico to retrieve his dental records

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This is completely off-topic but why in this high tech era would anyone travel to Mexico to retrieve dental records?

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