Anaheim Hills : 4 Hurt in Crash That Causes Freeway Jam

Four drivers were injured, one critically, in a head-on accident Thursday morning on the Riverside Freeway which tied up rush-hour traffic for more than 20 miles, the California Highway Patrol said.

A 16-year-old boy driving east at 6:05 a.m. inexplicably lost control of his car, which then plunged across the center divider of the freeway near Gypsum Canyon Road and crashed into three oncoming cars, according to Officer Angel Johnson. Firefighters reportedly had to pry through the wreckage to rescue the teen-ager, whom officers refused to identify because of his age. He was hospitalized with moderate injuries.

A 55-year-old Corona woman was the most seriously injured. She was airlifted to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and was in critical condition. A 49-year-old Corona man received cuts and bruises and a 44-year-old Lake Elsinore man had no apparent injuries. Both were taken to local hospitals.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, Johnson said.

The accident blocked all westbound lanes of the freeway for about 1 1/2 hours, causing a traffic tie-up that stretched back to the Interstate 15 interchange, she said.