Local News in Brief : Man, 2 Sons in Hospital After Head-On Crash

Two boys and their father were in critical condition Sunday after the car in which they were riding was struck head-on by an alleged drunk driver on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, authorities said.

The accident occurred at 7 p.m. Saturday near Eureka Drive in Studio City, said Officer Dennis Smith of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

Paul T. Charouhas, 11, of Woodland Hills, the most seriously injured, was in Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles with a fractured skull and pelvis, Smith said.

The father, George Charouhas of Studio City, and 6-year-old brother, Stephen, were in St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where they were reported in critical but stable condition. The father suffered a broken spine, knee and leg while Stephen had a broken leg and other injuries.

The three were driving east on Ventura Boulevard when a car driven by Kenneth Swofford, 55, of Woodland Hills apparently swerved across the yellow line and smashed head-on into their car, Smith said. The Charouhas car spun around once before ramming a third car waiting at a stop light on Eureka Drive.

No one in the third car was hurt.

Swofford was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was treated for an injured chin and arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving. He was being held at Van Nuys Jail Sunday in lieu of $2,500 bail.