A woman was killed Thursday when she lost control of her car and crashed through a metal fence on a Harbor (110) Freeway overpass in downtown Los Angeles, sending the car plummeting upside-down onto the northbound freeway lanes below.
The car landed on its roof amid northbound traffic near Third Street, giving freeway drivers an unexpected fright, but the vehicle is not believed to have struck any vehicles when it landed, officials said. At least two other vehicles were damaged, from striking either the crashed car or debris from the metal overpass fencing that also landed on the roadway.
The crash took place at 3:58 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. CHP officials said the female motorist was driving north on the 110 Freeway and took the Third Street exit heading west, but she lost control while on the Third Street overpass.
The woman slammed into the metal barricade on the overpass, sending the car through the fence, soaring through the air and landing upside-down on the northbound freeway lanes.
Los Angeles Fire Department crews had to use the “jaws of life” to extricate the 50-year-old woman’s body from the wreckage, according to LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
No other injuries were reported.
All northbound lanes were temporarily closed at Third Street, but ultimately one lane was opened before the entire scene was cleared shortly after 8 a.m., according to the CHP.
