2 Children in Bed of Truck Badly Burned in Accident

A pickup truck that was rear-ended by another vehicle as it traveled along a Highland Park street burst into flames Monday night, critically burning two children and injuring two adults, police said.

The children, who had been sitting in the bed of the truck, were identified by officials as Jamie Rodriguez, 2, and Guillermo Vega Jr., 4. Both were in critical condition Tuesday with second- and third-degree burns over 90% of their bodies.

They were initially taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, said Jim Williamson of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, but were later transferred to hospitals in San Bernardino and Sherman Oaks.

2 Adults Also Hurt

The two hospitalized adults also were in the back of the Ford pickup. Guillermo Monroy, 30, suffered second- and third-degree burns over most of his body and was in critical condition at County-USC Medical Center Tuesday, said hospital spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda. Virginia Figueroa, 29, was treated for minor burns and released.

The pickup, driven by the Vega child’s father, Guillermo Vega, 32, was headed along Figueroa Street when the accident occurred shortly before 8 p.m., police and fire department officials said.

The truck had stopped at a traffic signal in the 6600 block of Figueroa Street when a Ford LTD crashed into its rear, causing the pickup to burst into flames, and triggering a chain of rear-end collisions that ultimately involved five vehicles, said Lt. Ken Espiau of the LAPD’s Central Traffic division.

The driver of the automobile, Krystopher Matthew Howard, 30, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Espiau said. Howard was booked at County-USC’s jail ward, where he was checked for possible neck and back injuries.

The truck’s driver and his wife, Teresa Guillermo, 31, who were riding in the cab with their 1-year-old son, were treated for minor injuries at County-USC Medical Center and released, Espiau said. None of the other motorists involved in the five-car collision were hospitalized, he added.

In Los Angeles County, at least six people were killed in traffic-related accidents over the holiday weekend, said Officer Charlotte Foley of the California Highway Patrol, including fatalities that occurred between 6 p.m. Friday and late Tuesday. Last year there were seven traffic-related fatalities in the county during the three-day holiday weekend. Of 41 traffic deaths statewide from 6 p.m. Friday until Tuesday morning, 37 were not wearing a seat belt, the CHP reported.