Thank goodness I was heading north, away from Downtown L.A. toward Pasadena. According to traffic reports, every single freeway either on or going toward West L.A., as well as Sunset Blvd from Beverly Hills through Bel Air to Holmby Hills, was completely jammed because of M.J.
1) The 405 was frozen as it's near UCLA Medical Center, which is where Jackson was taken by ambulance. Westwood was impassable - no one could get in or out of the Westwood Village area.
2) Sunset Blvd needed law enforcement help because cars were nearly getting into accidents, slowing (and stopping) to see Jackson's Holmby Hills rented estate.
3) Hollywood Blvd was another freeze-zone because Jackson's star is on the Walk of Fame, and people were trying to get a glimpse of the tributes left there - the Transformers II movie didn't help either. Eventually, Hollywood Blvd was in fact shut down.
4) The 101 Freeway toward Encino-Tarzana became a mess because that's where the Jackson Family estate is located. If this is a problem, Calabasas, Malibu, Oxnard and Santa Barbara will be reached much later than anticipated.
5) Later in the afternoon, the 10 Freeway toward Downtown L.A. got into the fray as people attempted to actually follow the sheriff's helicopter as it flew Jackson's body to the L.A. Coroner's office. That messed up traffic even more than usual.
Jeez-Louise - O.J.'s slow-speed pursuit combined with the Northridge Earthquake freeway collapses couldn't compare to this vehicular gridlock.
It makes you wonder what M.J.'s funeral is going to be like.
