Car crash on Cardiff on-ramp to I-5

A July 10 rear-end collision on the northbound I-5 Birmingham Drive on-ramp caused one car to be pushed over the side of the freeway.

At around 7:15 p.m., a navy-blue Toyota Prius stopped on the metered on-ramp before entering the freeway. A silver Chevy sedan subsequently plowed into the stopped Prius.

Speculation was that the driver of the Chevy was not paying attention, accelerated to enter the freeway, and missed seeing the stopped vehicle at the end of the on-ramp. However, with the reduced amount northbound traffic at that time of the evening, the meter’s red lights are usually turned off.

A firefighter on the scene speculated that perhaps the Prius didn't need to stop at all. Another fireman said the occupants of both cars were transported to the local hospital, though none were seriously injured.

Firefighters had to disconnect the batteries of the Prius to avoid any possible electrical explosions prior to cutting down the freeway’s chain-link fence.

Instead of pulling the Prius up the bank it had gone down, a tow-truck driver pulled the heavily damaged car forward, onto Villa Cardiff Drive.