The Region - News from Nov. 8, 1985

Semi-truck operator Sylvester Coleman, 57, of Carson was killed instantly on the Artesia Freeway in North Long Beach when a pickup truck smashed into the rear of his disabled rig as he apparently was attempting to assess the trouble and set out warning flares, the California Highway Patrol said. The pickup driver, Virgil Lindell, 59, of Bellflower died at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Officers said Lindell apparently did not see the big truck, which had stalled in the slow lane. In a separate incident, Marisol Rodriguez, 24, of Los Angeles died when her car overturned on the Long Beach Freeway in Commerce when she braked to avoid a flatbed truck making a lane change in front of her, the CHP said. Rodriguez’s 4-year-old son suffered minor injuries.