Local News in Brief : 2 Saugus Athletes Still in Critical Condition

Top high-school long distance runner Heather Scobie, 17, of Saugus High School, and her cross-country teammate Shauna Bird, 16, remained in critical condition Sunday after an automobile collision in Newhall that killed one teen-ager.

Scobie, who underwent surgery for internal abdominal injuries after the accident Saturday, may require further surgery to replace a crushed vertebrae, said Holly Lyons, spokeswoman for Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills.

Bird’s collarbone and left arm were broken and three vertebrae were fractured in the accident, Lyons said. Neither girl is paralyzed, she said.

Steve Spraker, cross country coach at Saugus High School, said he visited the two girls at the hospital Sunday. “We’re looking at very, very long-term recovery for both of them,” he said.

The car’s driver, Melissa Zidle, 17, of Valencia was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia. At her family’s request, the hospital withheld information about her condition.

The three girls were traveling southbound on the Sierra Highway shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday when a northbound car began to hydroplane on the rain-slickened highway, then crossed the center line and collided into them, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Keith Cooper, 15, of Newhall died in the crash. Two of Cooper’s brothers, Kyle, 15, and the car’s driver, Kevin, 23, were treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and released.