Local News in Brief : 11 Injured in Fatal Car Crash Identified

The California Highway Patrol Saturday identified the 11 people injured Friday night in the head-on collision of a sports car and a van that killed one woman in a rural, mountainous area of Santa Clarita Valley.

The driver of the sports car, Robert Dixon, 26, of Newhall, was listed in critical condition Saturday at County-USC Medical Center. He has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, said CHP officer Carla Bittner.

Bittner said Dixon was driving north at more than 50 m.p.h. on San Francisquito Canyon Road in the Bouquet Canyon area when he tried to pass a slower car and slammed into a southbound van loaded with passengers, including six children.

Dixon’s passenger was killed when his car caught fire after hitting the van. She has yet to be identified.

The van’s driver, William Palm, 30, of Green Valley, near Saugus, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Granada Hills where he was listed Saturday in critical condition.

Palm’s wife Maureen, 28, suffered a fractured leg, back and concussion and was listed in serious condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia. Also injured but listed in fair to good condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial were Linsey Palm, 2; Wesley Palm, 4, and Christopher Palm, 9.

The other passengers in the van were Laura DiPaola, 28, who was in critical condition at Holy Cross; Justin DiPaola, 7, who was in fair condition at County-USC, and Caleb DiPaola, 6 months, and Rachel DiPaola, 3, both in stable condition at Holy Cross.

Another passenger in the van, Leslie Quiggle, 30, was treated for minor injuries at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial and released.