In the 1994 Northridge earthquake, sections of the I-5/SR 14 interchange here collapsed, forcing residents to seek out distant alternate routes for months. Officer Clarence Wayne Dean, unaware that the interchange had collapsed shortly after the earthquake, was killed attempting to use one of the interchange's collapsed overpasses on his motorcycle. The interchange was renamed after him upon its (much lower-to-earth, more stocky look) reopening. This interchange also suffered damage in the 1971 Sylmar quake.
This was the first Los Angeles area interchange to be named. Most that are named, are for peace officers that have died in the line of duty.
