The driver of a box truck blew through a red light off the Artesia (91) Freeway in Cerritos Tuesday, struck another vehicle and crashed into the center divider along Artesia Boulevard, causing his truck to be impaled by a large tree that eventually had to be cut down to clear the mangled wreck.
The accident occurred just after 10 a.m. Aug. 14 when the box car driver ran a red light coming off the Artesia Boulevard off-ramp from the westbound 91 Freeway and struck another motorist -- a Cerritos resident, said Lt. George Berumen of the .
After the collision, the box car then slammed into the center divider, causing the truck's front end to be pierced by a tree on the median.
* Keep up-to-date on all Cerritos-Artesia news, alerts and events by “liking” us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.Sheriff's Sgt. Deb Cotto said because the tree was so large, it had to be "cut down piece by piece" to remove the damaged truck. Both directions of Artesia Boulevard between Bloomfield and Shoemaker avenues were shut down until about 1:15 p.m. while the wreck was being cleared.
Both parties were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, Berumen said.
While sheriff's deputies and volunteers continued to close off traffic to that area, another accident occurred at Shoemaker Avenue and Artesia Boulevard about two hours later when an ambulance collided with another vehicle in the intersection. ( for more details on the second crash.)
