Local News in Brief : Driver Dies in Rush to Check on His Home
A Tujunga man rushing home to investigate a possible break-in was killed late Saturday when he was thrown from his Jeep after it collided with a small pickup truck in Sunland, authorities said Sunday.
The victim, Shane Alan Kern, 25, was working as a bartender in Burbank when his girlfriend called him to say she had found the front door of his home open, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Ron Barnes.
Driving home, Kern was eastbound on Foothill Boulevard shortly before midnight, police said, when he ran a red light at Oro Vista Avenue and crashed into the southbound truck.
Kern was pronounced dead of head injuries at the scene, Barnes said. He was not wearing a seat belt, police said.
The driver of the truck, Mark Shaffer, 18, of Sunland and his two passengers, along with two passengers in Kern’s vehicle, received minor injuries, police said.
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