Just after 12:30 this morning, a silver Honda Civic ran out of gas while driving on the southbound I-5 near Hwy 126 in Santa Clarita.

The vehicle was stopped in one of the middle lanes when 43 year-old Juana Valdiva, driving a Toyota Tercel, hit it from behind.

According to the California Highway Patrol report, the driver of the Honda, 46 year-old Sandra Zepeda, and her passenger, 18 year-old Emerald Arias suffered injuries after the collision and became trapped.

The southbound lanes of the I-5 were fully closed just before 1:00 a.m. to allow emergency crews to extract and transport the injured parties. The freeway was closed for 19 minutes before one lane was reopened.

All three injured women were transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. The most serious case was that of 18 year-old Arias, who succumbed to her injuries after 3:00 a.m.

Valdiva and Zepeda suffered minor injuries.

The southbound I-5 lanes were slowly reopened throughout the early morning, with the final section cleared at 2:40 a.m.