Skid marks and remnants of firefighting foam mark the spot in the McClure Tunnel where a two-year-old boy was killed in a crash between two trucks and the minivan he was riding in.
Coroner’s Lt. David Smith told the media today that the dead person was a two-year-old boy, whose name cannot be released until his family is notified.
Pictures from the tunnel showed that a dump truck had apparently rear-ended a flatbed truck carrying drywall. The minivan was in the left lane of the two-lane, curving tunnel, it had severe damage to its right side.
The crash occurred about 12:35 p.m. Friday, where the Santa Monica (10) Freeway ends and curves through the tunnel onto northbound Pacific Coast Highway.
Speed limits drop from 65 to 45 miles per hour at the tunnel, and the posted recommended speed is 35 mph. Traffic backs up into it frequently due to congestion at beach parking lots just up PCH.
On Friday, a helicopter landed in the Santa Monica Pier parking lot to pick up the two critically injured children and take them to hospitals, where one died, Santa Monica Fire Department Deputy Chief Tom Clemo said.
Six other people – five from the minivan and one of the truck drivers – suffered moderate injuries in the crash, Clemo said.
The injured truck driver declined to be taken to a hospital against medical advice, Gee said. The rest were taken to hospitals, she said.
The crash shut down both directions of the Santa Monica Freeway, backing up traffic into the Mid-City area. About 100 cars were stuck on the tunnel approach, and drivers were assisted by the CHP and Santa Monica police as they headed up onramps the wrong way to evade the closed tunnel.
