Ventura Freeway

Authorities say they are continuing to investigate the death of a 55-year-old Long Beach man who was struck and killed Saturday night while helping to change a flat tire on the Ventura (134) Freeway, although it appears to have been a “horrible accident.” The man, who Los Angeles County coroner's officials identified as Donald Bishop, was struck and killed on the 134 Freeway near the Buena Vista Street off-ramp at about 10:45 p.m. as he walked back to his car after helping a friend change a tire on a Ford pickup.

GLENDALE — A collision between three big-rig trucks on the Ventura (134) Freeway just west of the Glendale (2) Freeway interchange Tuesday closed all eastbound lanes for more than six hours as hazardous-materials crews cleaned up 150 gallons of spilled diesel fuel. There were only minor injuries. Traffic, which was backed up to the Golden State (5) Freeway interchange, was diverted onto the Glendale (2) Freeway for more than six hours as authorities worked to clean up spilled fuel and remove the charred remains of a big rig. The accident occurred at 7:40 a.m. when the driver of a semitrailer rear-ended a big rig traveling eastbound on the Ventura Freeway at a "much higher rate of speed," California Highway Patrol Officer Ken Butler said.

Two traffic collisions, including one involving a pair of hit-and-run drivers, clogged the Ventura (134) Freeway in both directions for about an hour Thursday night. The first collision, which occurred at 7:28 p.m., involved five cars on the westbound side of the freeway before the connector ramp to the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway. Two drivers left the scene, according to CHP Officer Vince Ramirez. The second crash, involving three vehicles, took place about 7:36 p.m. on the 134 Freeway west of San Fernando Road, Ramirez said.

Paul M. Anderson GLENDALE -- When Glendale Police Lt. Don Meredith went out to see the new signs on the Ventura Freeway memorializing slain Officer Charles Lazzaretto it brought a tear to his eye. "He was a good friend," Meredith said. "He was a super nice guy who always had a smile and something nice to say." Assemblyman Scott Wildman pushed through legislation last year that renamed a stretch of the Ventura Freeway from the Glendale Freeway to the Golden State Freeway after Lazzaretto who was killed in the line of duty in 1997.

Karen S. Kim NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- Two separate accidents snarled traffic on the Golden State (5) Freeway and Ventura (134) Freeway on Thursday night during rush hour. A pickup rolled over in the right lane of the southbound Golden State Freeway at Western Avenue after being hit by another vehicle at 6:05 p.m. The overturned pickup's driver, an off-duty sheriff's officer, was pulled out of the vehicle by bystanders before paramedics arrived, Burbank Fire Capt.

Two 19-year-old Glendale men face charges of felony failing to yield and drug possession after cutting off a California Highway Patrol officer on the Ventura (134) Freeway, then driving away when the officer tried to pull them over. Armando Lopez and Michael Nevarez led a CHP officer on a short chase from the west Ventura Freeway to the south Golden State (5) Freeway and onto Glendale and Los Angeles surface streets while throwing what authorities believe were small bags of drugs out the window, CHP Officer Vince Bell said.

A Los Angeles man faces potential charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving after driving west in the eastbound lanes of the Ventura (134) Freeway. Carlos Salvador, 24, was released Monday after posting $5,000 bail after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after a California Highway Patrol officer saw him drive by on the Ventura Freeway about 4:40 a.m. Monday, CHP Officer Vince Bell said.

Paul M. Anderson GLENDALE -- A Glendale man is scheduled to appear in Glendale Municipal Court today to face allegations that he stole a videocassette recorder from his parents home and led police on a high-speed chase up to Oxnard. Jason Glenn Worcester, 30, of Glendale was arrested on suspicion of burglary Sunday, police said. Worcester's parents kicked him out of their house recently, but he returned Sunday night while his parents were away, according to a police report.

Karen S. Kim The construction of a sound-wall on the Ventura (134) Freeway will close down ramps, lanes and connectors in Glendale over the next 14 months, but city officials and merchants don't seem too concerned about it. "They do not do construction during the peak freeway hours so it does not divert cars to other freeway interchanges or local streets," Glendale Traffic and Transportation Administrator Jano...

EAST GLENDALE — A fatal head-on collision on the eastbound Ventura (134) Freeway just east of the Glendale (2) Freeway early Friday morning closed all eastbound lanes for more than two hours, snarling the morning commute. A 73-year-old Burbank man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash that occurred at about 4:30 a.m. after his Chevrolet Cavalier collided with a Honda Element SUV traveling the wrong way down the eastbound lanes, authorities said. The man's name was being withheld pending the notification of his family.

Authorities say they are continuing to investigate the death of a 55-year-old Long Beach man who was struck and killed Saturday night while helping to change a flat tire on the Ventura (134) Freeway, although it appears to have been a “horrible accident.” The man, who Los Angeles County coroner's officials identified as Donald Bishop, was struck and killed on the 134 Freeway near the Buena Vista Street off-ramp at about 10:45 p.m. as he walked back to his car after helping a friend change a tire on a Ford pickup.

With the 405 Freeway set to be closed this weekend, transportation officials have identified several "hot spots" that are expected to be hit hard by traffic gridlock. The Times' Dan Wiekel identified some of them: CANYON ROADS: It's the mostly two-lane, north-south canyon roads connecting the San Fernando Valley and western Los Angeles County. Those roads, which traverse affluent neighborhoods such as Bel-Air, can bog down in normal weekend traffic. They include Sepulveda Boulevard, Beverly Glen Boulevard, Benedict Canyon Drive, Coldwater Canyon Drive, Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard.

My office at the Glendale News-Press features two windows. One of those windows looks out onto the newsroom, while the second is a glowing rectangle tuned to either local news or CNN. Since Thursday afternoon, that second window has been constantly repeating the news of Michael Jackson’s demise. The operative word here is “repeat.” With almost no new news, my television brethren have been forced to regurgitate the tidbits of information over and over and . .

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Metrolink on Thursday was scheduled to begin the groundwork for a railroad crossing for the future Flower Street extension, a $2.21-million project that neighbors have opposed from the beginning. The crossing will accompany the extension of Flower Street across the tracks to San Fernando Road, which was called for in the city’s agreement with the Walt Disney Co.’s Grand Central Campus. Without the street extension, city attorneys have said Glendale would be at risk of having to pay damages if Disney’s expansion plans were delayed as a result.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — A 48-year-old Fountain Valley man was struck and killed on the Ventura (134) Freeway early Tuesday morning after he pulled over, got out of his car and tried to help people involved in a previous crash, authorities said. The fatal accident, which is still under investigation, occurred at about 1 a.m. on the eastbound Ventura Freeway just west of Pacific Avenue when 26-year-old Sara Kacee swerved at a high rate of speed to miss the first wreck, which was blocking the No. 1 and 2 lanes, and hit Kirk Dowling as he walked along the sound wall to offer his assistance, according to the California Highway Patrol.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE ? Residents voiced their concerns about the impact of noise and traffic disruptions to their neighborhoods at a community meeting Monday night with city officials as construction of a $44-million bridge off the Ventura (134) Freeway to Fairmont Avenue kicks into high gear. The so-called flyover bridge, which is funded mostly through federal and state grants, will extend Fairmont Avenue west, over San Fernando Road and Verdugo Wash and come to rest with the upcoming Flower Street extension in what is the largest public works project in Glendale?

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Residents who live along the northern end of the San Fernando Road corridor are bracing for tens of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects that are scheduled to enter their major construction phases this year. From $7.5 million in railroad crossing improvements and additions to a $32.7-million “flyover” bridge off the Ventura (134) Freeway to San Fernando Road, city officials expect the large projects coming to Glendale’s north industrial corridor to play a big part in transforming the area from drab to luminous.

Vehicle flips on Ventura Freeway A sport-utility vehicle flipped over in the slow lane of the Ventura (134) Freeway on Wednesday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m. in the westbound lane near the Glendale Avenue exit, bringing out the Glendale Fire Department and two California Highway Patrol units, Officer Patrick Kimball said. The vehicle was moved to the side of the road and towed shortly after, he said. There were no injuries. ‘24’ star bound for Glendale jail Actor Kiefer Sutherland is headed for the Glendale Jail to serve 48 days for a misdemeanor drunk-driving offense.