Southbound traffic on the 5 Freeway was stalled through Downey during the Friday evening rush hour following a deadly crash involving a motorcyclist, officials said.
A downed motorcyclist was reported on the southbound lanes of the freeway near the Lakewood Boulevard exit around 4 p.m., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Elizabeth Kravig and the CHP's incident log.
Traffic is seen backed up along the 5 Freeway in Downey following a fatal crash involving a motorcycle on Feb. 23, 2018. (Credit: KTLA)
The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, Kravig said.
The incident had created a massive back-up in the southbound lanes that extended north past the Highway 60 interchange and spilled onto the nearby 710 Freeway, aerial video from Sky5 showed.
The lanes were eventually reopened around 9 p.m.
Coroner's officials were en route to the scene around 5 p.m., and authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.
No further details were immediately available.
KTLA's Nidia Becerra contributed to this report.
Authorities respond to the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash on the 5 Freeway in Downey on Feb. 23, 2018. (Credit: KTLA)