On a dark Los Angeles freeway, a disabled vehicle sits exposed in a traffic lane while cars continue approaching at highway speed. People are outside their vehicles, apparently trying to understand what has just happened. Headlights emerge through the darkness behind them.

Then another vehicle arrives.

What began as one crash becomes a chain reaction.

The scene closely matches reporting about the April 25, 2026 chain-reaction collision on the northbound 101 Freeway in Encino, near White Oak Avenue. California Highway Patrol said the initial incident was reported shortly before 2 a.m. Video from the scene showed a vehicle disabled in the left lane after hitting the center divider.

Within minutes, the situation became catastrophic.

THE FIRST COLLISION LEAVES A CAR EXPOSED

According to reports from NBC Los Angeles and ABC7, the incident began when a vehicle became disabled in the northbound lanes of the 101 Freeway near White Oak Avenue. CHP received calls about a car stopped with its hazard lights on in the fast lane.

At that time of night, the freeway was dark but still active.

That combination is extremely dangerous.

A stopped vehicle can be difficult for approaching motorists to recognize immediately. At highway speed, the distance between first seeing an obstruction and reaching it disappears rapidly.

Soon, another vehicle crashed into the disabled car.

But that collision was only the beginning.

THE FIRST IMPACT CREATED A HAZARD IN THE ROADWAY. EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED NEXT TURNED THAT HAZARD INTO A DEADLY CHAIN REACTION.

TWO PEOPLE ARE NOW OUTSIDE THEIR VEHICLES

Video from the scene captured an especially dangerous moment after the initial collisions.

Two people could be seen standing on the freeway near the damaged vehicles. ABC7 reported that the two drivers appeared to be discussing what had happened while standing with their backs toward approaching traffic.

This is the moment reflected in the supplied image.

The damaged cars are still sitting in active freeway lanes. People are outside. Meanwhile, headlights from approaching vehicles remain visible in the background.

From a stationary camera, there appears to be distance between the crash and those headlights.

At freeway speed, however, that distance can vanish in seconds.

The people at the crash scene are concentrating on what has already happened.

The greatest danger is now approaching from behind.

THE FIRST CRASH HAS STOPPED. THE FREEWAY HAS NOT.

ANOTHER CAR SLAMS INTO THE SCENE

The situation then changes almost instantly.

NBC Los Angeles reported that another vehicle struck the cars while two people were outside assessing the crash. One person on the freeway was hit during the subsequent collision.

The impact triggered another sequence of crashes.

Two additional vehicles then collided with the developing pileup, ultimately bringing the number of vehicles involved to five.

What began with one disabled car had become a multi-vehicle collision scene spread across the freeway.

There was little time for anyone to react.

For approaching drivers, the road ahead was no longer behaving like a freeway. Vehicles that should have been traveling at highway speed were suddenly stationary.

For the people already standing outside, there was virtually nowhere to go.

ONE COLLISION CREATED AN OBSTACLE. THE NEXT IMPACT TURNED THAT OBSTACLE INTO A PILEUP.

A 19-YEAR-OLD DRIVER IS KILLED

The consequences were devastating.

Authorities identified the person killed as 19-year-old Chaz Castillo. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

CBS Los Angeles reported that five vehicles were involved in the series of collisions.

A freeway crash had become a fatal incident within minutes.

The footage is especially difficult to watch because there is a period when the danger is visible before the final impact occurs.

Vehicles are stopped.

People are outside.

Headlights are approaching.

Viewers watching afterward understand what those headlights represent.

The people standing at the scene do not have that same perspective.

THE MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT WAS NOT NECESSARILY THE FIRST CRASH. IT WAS THE PERIOD AFTERWARD, WHEN PEOPLE AND DISABLED VEHICLES REMAINED EXPOSED TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC.

WHY STOPPED VEHICLES ARE SO DANGEROUS ON A FREEWAY

Freeways depend on predictability.

Drivers expect the vehicles ahead to be moving in roughly the same direction and at broadly similar speeds.

A completely stopped vehicle breaks that expectation.

Imagine traveling at 65 mph.

That is roughly 95 feet every second.

A driver who takes only three seconds to recognize a stationary object and begin reacting has already traveled hundreds of feet.

At night, the problem becomes even more complicated.

A motorist may initially interpret lights ahead as normal traffic.

A damaged vehicle may be positioned at an unusual angle.

Hazard lights can help, but they cannot physically stop approaching traffic.

If another vehicle blocks the driver's view until the last moment, the available reaction distance becomes even shorter.

That helps explain why secondary freeway crashes can be so severe.

THE FIRST ACCIDENT CHANGES THE ROAD FASTER THAN APPROACHING DRIVERS CAN SOMETIMES UNDERSTAND IT.

GETTING OUT OF THE VEHICLE CAN CREATE ANOTHER DANGER

After a collision, the natural instinct is often to get out.

People want to inspect the damage.

They want to speak with the other driver.

They may want to call police or exchange information.

On an ordinary street, those actions may be relatively straightforward.

A freeway is different.

CHP Sgt. Leon Hines told CBS Los Angeles that motorists involved in a highway collision should attempt to move their vehicle to the right shoulder when possible. If the vehicle cannot be moved, he advised remaining seated inside with seat belts fastened.

That guidance becomes especially significant when viewed alongside the Encino footage.

The people at the crash scene were surrounded by vehicles capable of approaching at freeway speed.

Even if they could see the traffic, accurately judging the speed of headlights at night can be difficult.

AFTER A FREEWAY CRASH, SURVIVING THE FIRST IMPACT DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THE DANGER HAS ENDED.

WHY A CHAIN-REACTION CRASH CAN DEVELOP SO QUICKLY

The first approaching driver encounters the obstruction and reacts.

Maybe they brake.

Maybe they swerve.

The driver behind them now has even less information.

That person sees brake lights but may not see the original crash.

They react.

A third vehicle arrives.

Suddenly, several cars are braking or changing lanes differently from normal freeway traffic.

One mistake can propagate backward through the traffic flow.

That is how a single collision can turn into several separate impacts.

The Encino incident reportedly involved five vehicles by the time the sequence ended.

EACH NEW COLLISION CHANGES THE ROAD AGAIN, GIVING THE NEXT DRIVER EVEN LESS TIME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING.

NIGHTTIME MAKES THE SCENE MORE DECEPTIVE

The supplied image demonstrates another major factor: darkness.

At night, drivers see fragments of the environment.

Headlights illuminate portions of the road.

Taillights show where other vehicles are located.

Reflective markings help define lanes.

But the entire scene is not visible in the same way it would be during daylight.

A dark-colored disabled vehicle can blend into the background.

People standing between vehicles may be even harder to see.

The headlights of other cars can also create glare.

By the time an approaching driver realizes that the lights ahead belong to vehicles that are completely stopped, the remaining distance may be dangerously short.

AT NIGHT, A DRIVER CAN SEE THE LIGHTS OF A CRASH LONG BEFORE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE LIGHTS ACTUALLY MEAN.

THE 101 FREEWAY BECOMES A CRIME AND COLLISION SCENE

Once the scale of the incident became clear, authorities had to secure the freeway.

ABC7 reported that a SigAlert was issued at 2:38 a.m. and all northbound lanes were closed, with traffic diverted at White Oak Avenue.

The closure lasted for hours.

NBC Los Angeles reported that the northbound lanes reopened around 9 a.m.

That long closure reflects the complexity of investigating a fatal multi-vehicle crash.

Investigators have to document vehicle positions.

Debris can indicate the sequence of impacts.

Damage patterns may help establish which vehicles collided first.

Video can be examined.

Witnesses can be interviewed.

The roadway itself becomes evidence.

When several collisions happen within seconds, determining exactly how the sequence unfolded can require much more than simply looking at the final positions of the vehicles.

POSSIBLE DUI WAS PART OF THE INVESTIGATION

CHP said the cause of the initial collision remained under investigation, and authorities were examining possible DUI as part of the incident.

ABC7 also reported that someone was arrested at the scene, although authorities had not disclosed what that individual was arrested for at the time of the report.

Those distinctions matter.

An investigation is not the same as a conclusion.

An arrest does not establish guilt.

And the existence of several separate impacts means investigators have to determine responsibility for each stage rather than treating the entire pileup as one simple collision.

A CHAIN-REACTION CRASH CAN HAVE ONE STARTING POINT WHILE STILL INVOLVING MULTIPLE SEPARATE ACTIONS AND DECISIONS.

THE VIDEO SHOWS WHY THE MINUTES AFTER A CRASH MATTER

Most crash footage focuses on impact.

This incident tells a broader story.

The first collision matters.

But so does what happens after it.

Where do the damaged vehicles stop?

Can they still move?

Do occupants remain inside?

Do people enter active traffic lanes?

Can approaching motorists recognize the danger?

How quickly can emergency services secure the scene?

Those questions can determine whether one collision remains one collision.

In Encino, it did not.

The initial crash was followed by additional impacts until five vehicles had become involved and a 19-year-old man had lost his life.

THE CRASH WAS NOT ONE MOMENT. IT WAS A SEQUENCE, AND EVERY FEW SECONDS CHANGED THE OUTCOME.

ONE IMAGE CAPTURES THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORY

Look again at the supplied frame.

The damaged vehicles are sitting on the freeway.

A person is outside.

Traffic is approaching.

Nothing in the still image shows the full violence of what happens next.

That is precisely why it is so powerful.

It captures the gap between two collisions.

For a brief moment, the first impact appears to be over.

But the freeway is still moving around the crash scene.

Headlights continue coming closer.

And before the people involved can fully deal with the first collision, another vehicle reaches them.

THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON FROM THIS FOOTAGE IS SIMPLE: ON A FREEWAY, THE DANGER MAY CONTINUE LONG AFTER THE FIRST VEHICLE STOPS MOVING.

For Chaz Castillo, that chain reaction had devastating consequences. What began as a late-night freeway collision ultimately became a five-vehicle crash and a fatal investigation that shut down one of Los Angeles' busiest freeways for hours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9yqXzZ16ns

The first crash was only the beginning. Watch the full footage to see how a few terrifying seconds on the 101 Freeway turned one collision into a deadly chain reaction.