Deadly I-5 pileup: Three people were killed and seven others seriously injured Monday in a six-vehicle car accident on Interstate 5 in Woodland. Police say a freight truck traveling at an unsafe speed may be to blame.

•    Caltrans closed one of two lanes on southbound I-5 after a minor accident near a freeway construction site. Traffic slowed way down for the closure; some of the vehicles were stopped.

•   A semi truck came barreling down the freeway too fast to stop and plowed into the vehicles ahead of it. Six vehicles were involved in the chain reaction. All of them caught fire.

•    Two adults and a 2-year-old child died at the scene. Seven others were hospitalized, some with severe burn injuries.

The fatal chain-reaction crash occurred just before 1 p.m., according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.

Traffic had slowed for a Caltrans construction zone near the interchange with County Road 102.

Caltrans had closed one of the two lanes of southbound Interstate 5 at about 9:30 a.m. after a motorist struck a crash-protection device along the freeway, Caltrans spokesman Mark Dinger told the San Jose Mercury News. Crews placed three warning signs about the closure along the road, starting one mile before the work zone, Dinger said.

Vehicles were slowing down and coming to a stop in the area.

Shortly before 1 p.m., a Mitsubishi semi truck driven by 38-year-old Carlos Hernandez approached slowing traffic at an unsafe speed, according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.  Hernandez apparently attempted to change lanes to avoid the vehicles but he was traveling too fast to stop. He plowed into the vehicles in front of him.

Six vehicles, including the truck, were involved in the mangled wreck. All of them caught fire. Five of them were burned so badly it was difficult to be sure what make and model they were. The CHP later told KCRA News that the accident involved a Jeep Wrangler, a Chevy Tahoe, an Acura sedan, a Ford Expedition, and the Mitsubishi semi truck.

Two adults — a 49-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man, both from Oregon — were trapped inside the Chevy Tahoe, CHP officer Leal said. Both of them died at the scene. A 2-year-old girl who was trapped in the Acura also died at the scene.

All three of them suffered extreme burn injuries, but autopsies were to be conducted to determine whether they died from the collision impact or from the fire, said Robert LaBrash, chief deputy coroner for the Yolo County County Sheriff’s Department. Results of the autopsies have not yet been released.

Seven other people, including Hernandez, sustained serious injuries and were taken to U.C. Davis Medical center in Sacramento, Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael and Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Vacaville.

Three of the victims who were taken to U.C. Davis Medical Center had been released by Tuesday afternoon, while a 39-year-old woman remained hospitalized there. She was listed in good condition, according to hospital spokesman Charles Casey.

A 61-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, both of whom were in the sedan with the child who died, suffered severe cuts and burns and were listed in fair condition at Mercy San Juan Medical Center on Tuesday, officials said.

Hernandez may have been taken to Kaiser Hospital in Vacaville, but the nature of his injuries and his condition was not clear.

The CHP is still trying to determine exactly what happened. Investigators are interviewing the survivors and any witnesses they can locate. At this point, however, it appears that Hernandez started the chain reaction, Leal said Tuesday.

“He just came into it too fast,” she said.

Here are more photos of the accident. Click on a thumbnail to see it full-size.

Woodland Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.