6 people, including 2 children, badly hurt in Grapevine crash
An SUV driven by a fatigued motorist crashed into a minivan on the Grapevine section of the 5 Freeway near Gorman on Sunday evening, critically injuring two children and four adults, the California Highway Patrol said.
All six suffered major injuries and were taken by helicopter to three hospitals, said Sgt. Jon Staricka of the California Highway Patrol’s Ft. Tejon office. One was trapped and had to be extricated from the vehicle, an L.A. County fire dispatcher said.
The crash occurred about 5 p.m., when an Acura SUV in the fast lane, driven by a drowsy motorist, struck the center divider then veered back onto the freeway, striking a Honda minivan in the No. 2 lane, Staricka said.
Both vehicles then crossed over the third and fourth lanes and crashed into a dirt embankment on the freeway’s right shoulder. Both vehicles were badly damaged, Staricka said.
There were three people in each vehicle: two children and the driver in the SUV and two adults and a teen in the minivan. The teen was “going on a trip to see a university up north,” Staricka said.
County animal control was called to care for a small dog found in one of the vehicles.
Four victims were transported to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, one person was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia and another to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.
The crash occurred near the Kern County border, said Los Angeles County supervising fire dispatcher Phil Ulloa.
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