he knows from experience even with its lights on the van is an accident waiting to happen. when i got up a little closer beside the mustang that hit the van, i could see there was a man and woman in there, and they just looked completely disoriented. these two people are sitting in the mustang. a male and female. multiple injuries. i need chp asap. we have multiple people down. andereg waves his camera light to slow down oncoming traffic, but drivers blinded by construction lights swerving out of control can t react in time. another car accordions into the van. the couple is rear ended. as the situation spins out of control. another five vehicles involved. another five vehicles involved. as each second passes, the pileup gets more dangerous. it s nerve-wracking when you keep hearing screeching tires, screeching tires, screeching tires. you don t know which one is
and another multi-car pileup. firefighters at l.a. s task force 39 in van nuys, california, see more than their share of danger. each tour of duty. we average probably 10 15-plus calls a shift, so you never know what you re going to go out on. one big reason is the 405. a ten-lane stretch of highway havoc just two miles from their stationhouse. at night, we have a heightened alert because of the visibility. the 405 has earned a bad rep as the most congested freeway in america. august 6th, 2001. just after 2:00 a.m. freelance cameraman, paul andereg is hunting for news. i do all my work at night. andereg spots a broken down van in the carpool lane on the 405.