Local News in Brief : Tarzana Girl Killed in Encino Collision
A 15-year-old Tarzana girl died Sunday morning from injuries she suffered in a traffic collision that apparently was caused by a drunk driver, police said.
The accident occurred about 2 a.m. when the driver of a pickup truck reportedly ran a stop sign at Zelzah Avenue and Valley Vista Boulevard in Encino, slamming into the BMW in which the girl was a passenger, said officer Dennis Smith of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The victim, Sharon Elizabeth Barnett, died about 7:40 a.m. at Medical Center of Tarzana, police said. Her companion, Jason Warner, 19, of Encino, the driver of the BMW, was in serious condition Sunday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.
Police said they will ask the district attorney to file felony manslaughter and felony drunk driving charges against the pickup truck’s driver, Dennis William Blumenthal, 19, of Encino. Blumenthal’s blood alcohol count was 0.10, the minimum level at which a person is considered legally to be under the influence of alcohol, Smith said.
Blumenthal and his passenger, Darren Cobrae, 18, also of Encino, also were treated at the Northridge hospital. Neither was admitted to the facility, a nursing supervisor said.
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