Victim of Fatal Wreck Was Sepulveda Man, 22
The man who was trapped in a car and burned to death after a three-vehicle collision on the Golden State Freeway in Sun Valley Friday was identified Saturday as Ricardo Zuniga, 22, of Sepulveda, the California Highway Patrol said.
The accident also caused the death of the 8-month-old fetus of an 18-year-old passenger in the car. The baby was delivered stillborn Saturday morning at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CHP Officer Carla Bittner said.
Five people, including the pregnant woman and all others in the two automobiles involved, were injured in the accident, which occurred about 12:30 p.m. just south of Osborne Street. The driver and passenger in the third vehicle, a pickup truck, were not injured.
Three of the injured remained hospitalized on Saturday.
The collision was triggered when the hood of the car in which Zuniga was a passenger popped up. As the driver attempted to pull over to the center divider to stop, his car was clipped by a second car, then overturned when it was hit by the pickup, Bittner said.
The accident delayed southbound traffic for about 2 1/2 hours.
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