6 Teen-Agers Hurt as Van Collides With Ambulance

Six teen-agers were injured, two of them critically, when the van in which they were riding broadsided an ambulance in Woodland Hills Friday night, police said.

The accident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. as the van, traveling east on Oxnard Street, collided with the ambulance, which was traveling north on De Soto Avenue, Los Angeles Police Officer Mike Ewing said. He said the ambulance’s lights and siren were on as it sped to answer a call regarding a drug overdose.

The impact of the crash caused three of the teen-agers to be thrown from the van, leaving them unconscious, police said.

Transported by Helicopter

Two of those thrown from the vehicle were critically injured. They were identified as Michelle Rose and Sandra Isaacs, both 15-year-olds of Woodland Hills, who suffered extensive head injuries and were taken by rescue helicopters to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Another 15-year-old girl, Julie Rebel of Encino, suffered a broken arm and several cuts and was taken to Valley Park Medical Center in Canoga Park. Two other passengers, 16 and 17, also suffered minor injuries and were treated and released at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills. They were not identified by police.

The driver of the van, identified only as a 17-year-old from Canoga Park, suffered minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, Ewing said. He was released to his parents.

Two paramedics, Steven Shott, 31, of Granada Hills, and Donald Mackay, 36, of Canoga Park, received several cuts and bruises but were able to treat some of the victims until several more ambulances could arrive, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said.