101 Freeway intentionally blocked by singers performing atop a truck [Updated]

Lanes of the 101 Freeway in Hollywood were blocked by a truck aboard which several occupants were playing loud music and singing, according to witnesses.

The southbound 101 was jammed for several miles due to the incident, which some witnesses said appeared to be some type of intentional act or protest. Only one of the southbound lanes was open as of 10:50 a.m.

Sarah Faden, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said three individuals were playing music and "creating some type of havoc" on the freeway between Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street.

"We have reports that someone got on top of his cab and began to sing," said Francisco Villalobos of the California Highway Patrol.

One witness told The Times that the people on the truck appear to be performing some type of concert.

[Updated at 11 a.m.: The people blocking the freeway appear to be members of a band called Imperial Stars. The group has a song called "Traffic Jam 101."

Members of the group were being arrested, officials said.]

-- Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein

Photo: The scene on the southbound 101 Freeway in Hollywood. Credit: KTLA. Watch video here.

Comments

[guest]

And their behavior was just rewarded with some free publicity. Idiots.

[Darren]

Morons will do anything to get their faces on TV

[DK_Lush]

There are better ways to protest, there are better ways to get publicity. Imagine if some extremists decided to disrupt economy... All they have to do is block a few key spots, just like these "singers".. How is this not terrorism?

[PND4]

Geez, with all of the normal delays that motorists put up... this is a stupid stupid mistake. Send them to jail and don't let them pass go like Lindsey Lohan!

[TV cynic]

Great publicity, bad public relations.

[highlydislikethatband]

hate! thanks for making me late to work :(

[Diogenes]

Is Gloria Allred on the scene?

[Lisa]

Free publicity or is it? I am sure the judge will not be amused! I bet the people stuck on the 101 barely found it amusing as well...idiots.

[Michael]

Any type of publicity stunt like this should land them in jail for a good few months. Tired of seeing stars getting away with this. The Law should be tough on these guys.

[Yolanda]

What the heck were they thinking, hey have fun life is to short anyway

[Kev]

Idiots

[Robert]

Criminal stupidity and narcissism. I think a fair sentence will be to calculate the total amount of manhours they wasted, and long them up an equal amount of time. It will amount to some years.

[Yolanda]

What the heck were they thinking ? Hey keep having fun life is to short anyway

[Kev]

What's even worse is the band only has 20 friends on facebook. Guess what? Your music sucks.

[Yolanda]

O K so they were trying to do a video

[Jay]

Considering how small disruptions of traffic can cause slow downs that last for hours and spread for miles, this was a pretty horrible thing to do to their fellow angelenos. I hope they spend a couple days in jail and everybody remembers their name so we can collectively not buy a damn thing they ever release.

[Stuck commuter]

Their follow up song will be "No Talent 101". Why didn't they stay home and jam traffic in the OC?

[Dauger]

Personally I would have rather seen the Fire Department get these guy down using the fire hoses than the ladders...

[Michael Colburn]

I was in admiration of LA Times and its discretion not to post the name of the band. Because to do so would accommodate the idiocy and self-serving attitudes of the perpetrators. But then you up and posted there name in the update. Which leads me to believe you received a call and a stipend from their publicist.

[Christine B]

When the judge sentences them, the fines the band will be assessed will bring a whole new meaning to the music biz phrase "pay to play." I know from personal experience how hard it is to get a good gig down here, but captive audiences are not always receptive to one's music especially when you block the 101 at any hour.

[Alyce]

way to get attention...i'll be checking out their myspace page later! LOL

[d]

Who do they think they are U2 ?

[Colleen]

good lord people get a grip.. they closed down traffic for a few minutes.. same amount of time taxi cabs take up switching lanes and normal road rage. It was funny and they got free publicity. They didn't do anything that harmed any citizen in any way. Wish I could have been on the freeway to see it

[Uncle Waldo]

I love how people say, "oh don't worry about it. The freeway was only closed for a couple of minutes."

These are also the people who drive 10 miles under the speed limit and don't realize that they've stopped traffic to a halt 2 miles back.

But, hey, what better way to spread the word about the plight of homeless children than to irritate thousands of innocent people...

Liberalism is a birth defect.

[Trina]

Apparently the only way they could get people to listen to their music.

And as if LA traffic isn't bad enough. If I were a cop I would have tasered these idiots.