Local News in Brief : Driver Dies After Being Impaled on Guardrail

A Mission Hills man was killed Wednesday when he lost control of his car on Henry Mayo Drive in Val Verde and was impaled on a guardrail, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The 48-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was driving eastbound about 12:30 a.m. on the road, which is also California 126, when he attempted to change lanes as he approached the Golden State Freeway and struck another car, Officer Monty Keifer said.

The victim’s car went out of control and into a guardrail, where a broken section of the railing impaled him in the car, Keifer said. The car burst into flames, but the victim was believed to have already been fatally injured, he said.

Debra Beard, 31, of Redondo Beach, the driver of the other car, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving, but she apparently was not responsible for the accident, Keifer said.