GORMAN – A toddler was hospitalized in critical condition and a horse in a trailer was killed Saturday afternoon when heavy fog on the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway near Gorman caused at least three traffic collisions involving at least 30 vehicles, authorities said.
It happened around 2:45 p.m. Saturday, March 23, on the southbound Golden State Freeway south of Frazier Mountain Park Road, California Highway Patrol Officer M. Karr said. The investigation is continuing, Karr said.
“What we know is that there were at least three separate collisions with an estimate of a minimum of 30 vehicles involved,” Karr said. “Multiple vehicles did catch on fire, a horse trailer was hit resulting in one of the horses succumbing to its injures,” the officer said.
Fourteen people were taken to various hospitals with minor injuries and a 21-month-old boy in a Kia Soul was flown to Northridge Children’s Hospital for treatment of major injuries and listed in critical condition, Karr said.
Alcohol and drugs did not appear to be a factor, the officer said.
The Golden State Freeway was shut down at Grapevine Road for more than three hours, Karr said.
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