Late-afternoon wreck ties up Highway 99 traffic in Ceres

CERES -- A traffic collision on southbound Highway 99 in Ceres quickly created a bottleneck on the freeway just as the late-afternoon commute was heating up. The California Highway Patrol said the incident was reported at 5:28 p.m. north of the Hatch Road offramp. There were no reported injuries. A witness caught in the backup reported two involved cars in the fast and middle lanes, and three vehicles on the right shoulder.