L.A. Gets Up to Inch of Rain; Snow in Sierra

The first major storm of the season swept across Southern California late Sunday and early today, bringing rain that was blamed in part for the death of a 24-year-old woman and her unborn child in a traffic accident on a slick freeway.

The storm dropped .37 of an inch in downtown Los Angeles and more than an inch in other areas of the basin, including Mt. Wilson, where 2.25 inches was reported. Snow fell at Big Bear Lake and in the Sierra Nevada in Central and Northern California.

About 9,000 homes served by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power were hit with power outages, starting about 8 p.m. Sunday, as a combination of rain and dust shorted out power lines over a widespread area, officials said. The storm front was moving east today. Weather Data Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times, predicted clearing and warmer weather on Tuesday.

CHP spokesman Ruben Martinez said the rain contributed to a fatal accident shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday in the northbound lanes of the Santa Ana Freeway, north of Washington Boulevard.

A 28-year-old resident of mid-town Los Angeles drove onto the freeway, swerved from one lane to another, hit one car, continued across the freeway and then smashed into another car, Martinez said.

Thrown Onto Freeway

The impact threw the driver and his pregnant wife onto the freeway. They were taken to County USC Medical Center, where the 8-month-old fetus was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. and the expectant mother at 4:40 a.m. today.

The injured husband was booked into the medical center’s jail ward for investigation of manslaughter and drunk driving. The identity of the couple was withheld until relatives could be notified.

Ed Freudenburg of the Department of Water and Power reported that customers lost power in Hollywood, West Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles, San Pedro, Sun Valley, El Sereno and in other locations. Power was restored around 4 a.m today.