Local News in Brief : Man Killed When Car Overturns; Driver Held
An Arleta man is being held on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving after the car he was driving struck a freeway sound wall and overturned, killing his passenger, the California Highway Patrol said Monday.
Caesar Meza, 21, of Sylmar was pronounced dead by paramedics. The driver, Javier Rodriguez, 18, was hospitalized with major injuries at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills. He will be formally booked on drunk driving and manslaughter charges and transported to the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center when his condition improves, Officer Mark Fressia said.
Authorities said Rodriguez was traveling west at 70 m.p.h. on the Simi Valley Freeway at the transition road to the southbound Golden State Freeway at about 1 a.m. when he lost control of his car, struck the wall and overturned. The impact ejected both men from the vehicle, Fressia said.
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