Southbound 15 Freeway Traffic Jammed After I-5 Shutdown

MURRIETA, CA — A fatal crash near Camp Pendleton early Thursday that shut down a stretch of southbound Interstate 5 was likely impacting traffic through Southwest Riverside County.

Traffic has been heavy on southbound Interstate 15 through Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta and Temecula all morning and early afternoon.

According to information shared on the California Highway Patrol CAD system, the tough slogging through Southwest Riverside County was possibly a result of I-5 overflow.

At about 3 a.m. Thursday on southbound I-5 near the Las Pulgas Road exit, three people were killed in a chain-reaction crash.

All southbound I-5 lanes, south of Las Pulgas Road, were blocked due to the crash, and a SigAlert was issued. Traffic was detoured to the Las Pulgas Road off-ramp then back on northbound I-5, Caltrans said.

As of 11 a.m., two southbound I-5 traffic lanes were reopened. It was unclear when the freeway would fully reopen. A SigAlert remains in effect.

The California Highway Patrol was running a traffic break on southbound I-15, just north of the southbound 15 traffic jam.