NEW ORLEANS — Five people were injured and taken to the hospital in a multi-car crash on the Pontchartrain Expressway eastbound near the Camp Street exit before noon Saturday.
Social media posts show a truck on its side and on top of a car. A car nearby also appears to have heavy damage.
The NOPD was notified of the crash a little before 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Traffic was backed up on the West Bank Expressway for more than four hours after that. At one point it stretched as far as the Lafayette Street exit.
Drivers trying to find alternate routes caused significant delays on other Westbank routes as well, including the Huey P. Long Bridge.
Just as the wreck was cleared and the Eastbound side was beginning to flow again, another wreck temporarily slowed traffic on the Westbound side of the Crescent City Connection.
Photos sent to WWL-TV show a van engulfed in flames on the side of the road. State Police handle wrecks that happen on the CCC, and they have not released any information on the cause of the vehicle fire or whether anyone was hurt.
All lanes of the bridge were open by late Saturday afternoon.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.