Local News in Brief : GTE Repairman Dies in Mountain Crash
A Van Nuys man who drove to the top of a mountain in the Angeles National Forest to make repairs at a communications facility was killed when his van plunged 2,000 feet into a ravine, authorities said Thursday.
Frank Fish, a 57-year-old General Telephone equipment installer and repairer, did not return Wednesday from a late afternoon repair run to a microwave facility on top of Mt. Lukens, north of La Canada Flintridge, officials said.
GTE reported him missing Thursday morning and a Los Angeles County sheriff’s rescue team began a search of the rugged terrain, said Sgt. Ernie Roop. The van and Fish’s body were found below Mt. Lukens Road at 10:50 a.m., about two hours after the search was begun.
Roop said it appeared that Fish was returning from his work assignment when the van went off the dirt road about two miles from the unmanned GTE facility. The point of the accident was at the 4,000 foot elevation and officials said it probably had been shrouded in fog.
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