Local News in Brief : Woodland Hills Couple Killed in Plane Crash

Four Los Angeles-area residents, including two from Woodland Hills, were killed when the twin-engine plane in which they were traveling crashed onto the median of U.S. 395 near Mammoth Lakes, authorities said Tuesday.

The victims of the Monday crash were identified as Peter Drizin, 60, and his wife, Beverly, 59, of Woodland Hills; Joyce Hamm, 46, of Torrance, and a fourth person who was not identified pending notification of relatives, said Mike Johnson of the Mono County Sheriff’s Department.

Johnson said the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Mammoth Lakes Airport about 5 p.m. There was no fire and the plane did not collide with cars on the highway despite heavy holiday traffic, he said.

One of the victims died instantly, said Lynn McCourtney, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman. The other three were taken to Mammoth Hospital in Mammoth Lakes, where they died a short time later, she said.

Johnson said investigators do not know who was piloting the plane.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.