Driver Arrested After Passenger Dies in Crash
A passenger in a car was killed in a freeway crash early Saturday near Vasquez Rocks, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Joe Artiga, 19, of Lancaster was arrested after the 3 a.m. crash on the Antelope Valley Freeway south of Agua Dulce Canyon Road, CHP Officer Julie Kaus said.
The name of the 21-year-old dead man from Lancaster was not disclosed pending notification of relatives.
Opposite Lanes
Artiga was driving south on the freeway when he skidded into the northbound lanes, Kaus said, and was struck broadside by a car driven by Nadene Scott, 69, of Compton. Scott was traveling about 60 m.p.h., the officer said.
Scott was treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia and transferred in fair condition to a Kaiser Permanente medical facility in Harbor City, a Henry Mayo spokeswoman said.
Artiga was listed in satisfactory condition in the jail ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Hal Grant said.
The northbound freeway was closed about 2 1/2 hours while the wreckage was cleared, Kaus said.
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