Local News in Brief : Motorcycle Accidents Tie Up Canyon Traffic

Two motorcycle accidents, one that killed a Chatsworth man, delayed traffic up to two hours Sunday on Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

Jerry Duarant, 32, was killed in a head-on collision about 4 p.m. when he attempted to pass another vehicle on a curve about two miles north of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Craig Klein. The victim’s wife, Brenda, 26, a passenger on the motorcycle, was in critical condition Monday at UCLA Medical Center. A woman driving the other vehicle and her 8-year-old daughter were uninjured, Klein said.

An accident that occurred about a half-hour later contributed to the traffic congestion and caused county Fire Department officials to close the road for about two hours. An unidentified man, who was not seriously injured, crashed his motorcycle near the junction of Old and New Topanga Canyon boulevards, a county fire spokesman said.

Several other accidents involving beachgoers in Malibu contributed to the congestion on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Klein said. In one, an 11-year-old Malibu girl was killed when she darted onto Pacific Coast Highway in front of a van driven by Joseph Laraneta, 45, of Westlake Village, authorities said. The girl’s identity was withheld pending notification of relatives.