A multi-car pileup snarled Interstate 5 north of Gorman just as Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol were preparing to shut the freeway due to heavy snow.

As many as two dozen vehicles were involved in a collision on southbound I-5 that left two people with moderate injuries, four with minor injuries and tons of wreckage in freeway lanes.

Traffic was backed up from Castaic to Frazier Park. After the crash victims were transported, the CHP reopened northbound lanes just before 6 p.m. to clear the northbound traffic.

Heavy equipment was called in to clear the wreckage south of Frazier Park, but the work was suspended in order to keep equipment available in case of another emergency.

In Valencia, southbound I-5 lanes were flooded in the vicinity of SR-126. Several drivers hydroplaned and some crashed.

Meanwhile in Santa Clarita, Friday afternoon saw several collisions as drivers slammed into trees and walls – including one crash into a pole that knocked out power along parts of Whites Canyon Road from Ranier to Delight streets and left power lines down in residents’ backyards.

Complicating matters for emergency responders was the fact that police agencies including the SCV Sheriff’s Station were running two-man crews because suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner was still on the loose. An incident that might normally have required just one deputy zapped more department resources Friday when two deputies had to respond.

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