19-year-old man killed in violent chain-reaction crash caught on video on 101 Fwy in Encino
A violent chain reaction on Highway 101 in Encino claimed the life of a 19-year-old man early Saturday morning, and it was all caught on camera.
The California Highway Patrol says it received several calls about a car stuck with its hazard lights on in the fast lane of the northbound 101 Freeway near White Oak Avenue just before 2 a.m.
Video from the scene shows the disabled car being hit by another vehicle.
The drivers of both cars are then seen standing with their backs turned to oncoming traffic as they chat.
It didn’t take long before another car slammed into one of the disabled vehicles, video shows, triggering a multi-vehicle pileup. The collision killed one of the drivers who were outside the vehicles. He was identified by the medical examiner’s office as 19-year-old Chaz Castillo.
It is not known if anyone else was injured.
The CHP said someone was arrested at the scene, but did not say why they were arrested.
A Sigalert was issued at 2:38 a.m., closing all northbound lanes and diverting traffic onto White Oak Avenue. Northbound traffic was blocked at the scene, even after two lanes reopened.
The Sigalert was canceled around 9 a.m. and all remaining lanes were reopened.
City News Service contributed to this report.
