9 drivers missing in tunnel fire

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Authorities scrambled Monday to find at least nine drivers who apparently escaped from vehicles trapped in a weekend tunnel inferno that killed three people on a key transportation route.

Thirty-one vehicles were involved in the pileup in the curving tunnel on Interstate 5, but the California Highway Patrol has accounted for only 23 people, including two men and a 6-year-old boy who were killed.

If all of them were at the wheel at the time of the crash, excluding the boy, that leaves nine unaccounted for drivers. The number could be higher if there were passengers in those vehicles.

Investigators are confident only three people died, but CHP Assistant Chief Warren Stanley said they have no idea what happened to the others who left their vehicles to the flames.

“We have no idea,” Stanley said. “We haven’t identified all the vehicles. We haven’t identified all the drivers.”

As of Monday, the CHP had received no missing person reports connected to the crash. Stanley said investigators expanded their search, including contacting local agencies to find people involved.

Authorities said 10 people were hospitalized with minor or moderate injuries from the crash late Friday night. An additional 10 people escaped the fiery, 550-foot-long tunnel unscathed.

As the highway reopened Monday, investigators worked to identify vehicles, some reduced to molten steel.

Traffic moved smoothly during rush hour after the state reopened all main lanes of the interstate. The fire-damaged tunnel, which routes trucks beneath the highway on a gentler grade down Newhall Pass, will be closed indefinitely.

“Traffic is moving wonderfully,” CHP spokesman John Lutz said. “It’s smooth and light.”