Driver Killed as Van Hits Tree at End of Street in Pacoima

A Pacoima man was killed when the van he was driving slammed into a tree at the end of a dead-end street early Sunday in Pacoima, police said.

Flavio Ayala, 43, was driving “at a high rate of speed” when he hit the tree on the east side of Cayuga Avenue, which marks the end of a stretch of Correnti Street, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Mel Cunningham said.

Witnesses told police investigators that Ayala made no attempt to stop at Cayuga Avenue, Cunningham said.

Police found several empty containers of beer and a loaded 9mm handgun in the van, Cunningham said. Investigators had not identified the weapon’s owner, he said.