6 Injured as Car Knocks Van Into Nightclub

Six people were injured early Saturday when a car hit a parked van and sent it smashing into a Pacoima nightclub, authorities said.

Although no one in El Patio nightclub at 11255 San Fernando Road was hurt in the 2 a.m. accident, the four occupants of the van and the two people in the car were injured, said Officer Michael Ewing of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The car’s driver, Refugio Hernandez, 51, of Pacoima was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills with a broken jaw, Ewing said. His passenger, Virginia Cortez, 49, also of Pacoima, was treated at Holy Cross for a concussion.

Three people in the van suffered serious burns and a fourth was bruised from the car’s impact, Ewing said. The force of the crash slammed the van into the front of the nightclub, where the vehicle burst into flames, struck a pole, then hit another building, Ewing said.

Two of the van’s passengers, Angelina Aguinaga, 26, and Jose Herrera, 26, both of Canoga Park, were taken by helicopter to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. A third, Nellia Aguinaga, also of Canoga Park, was taken to Serra Memorial Hospital in Sun Valley. The fourth person in the van, Elizabeth Aguinaga, 27, also of Canoga Park, was bruised, Ewing said.

The fire burned 20 minutes, City Fire Department spokesman Jim Williamson said.

Witnesses said the wooden shutters on the nightclub windows were charred.