91 Freeway Re-Opens After Afternoon Shutdown

A woman was pulled today from a U-Haul truck that led to an evacuation and freeway closure in Corona.

According to Corona police Sgt. Frank Barron, the woman, whose identity was not released, was discovered in the vehicle after bomb technicians opened it using a remote-controlled robot.

She was rushed to Corona Regional Medical Center, but her condition could not immediately be confirmed.

Police were called to examine the truck shortly after 10 a.m. following complaints that it had been parked outside Cocos Restaurant at 4714 Green River Road, just off the Riverside (91) Freeway, for two days.

Officers became concerned because the vehicle was leaking a strange substance and the cab windows were covered with newspaper, preventing them from seeing inside, Barron said.

The restaurant, a gas station and an office complex in the area were evacuated, and both sides of the 91 were shut down — causing a massive traffic jam — while the robot smashed the truck’s windows and opened a door.

Barron said officers did not find any harmful substances.

He did not know why the vehicle had been left there or what the woman was doing in it.