Northridge Man Killed in Head-On Crash

A Northridge man and two Pasadena women were killed Saturday afternoon in a head-on collision near Bishop, the California Highway Patrol said. Five other people, including three children, were injured in the accident, the CHP said.

The dead man, Vito Zambetti, 35, of Northridge, was riding in a car driven by his wife, Susan, 34. She was in serious condition Saturday night at Northern Inyo Hospital, Bishop.

The Zambettis and their three children were returning from a skiing trip when their car drifted across the center divider of a two-lane highway, the Highway Patrol said.

The Zambettis were traveling south on U.S. 395, about 20 miles south of Bishop in Inyo County, when the accident occurred.

Also killed were Linda Niehaus, 25, and Mary Bonnabel, also 25, who were passengers in a car driven by Eric Niehaus, 22, also of Pasadena. He was in Northern Inyo Hospital in satisfactory condition.

All three Zambetti children were injured. Antoinette, 5, and Francis, 7, were flown to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center, Lancaster, where they were in critical condition. Gina, 4, was in satisfactory condition at Northern Inyo Hospital.