3 Men Killed in Early Morning Car Accidents : Fatalities: Two drivers were jailed on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. Failure to heed a red light or stop sign was blamed in both crashes.

Traffic accidents claimed the lives of three men in the west San Fernando Valley early Saturday, Los Angeles police said.

Two passengers died in a two-car collision after a driver failed to stop at a red light at a Northridge intersection. The third death occurred in Granada Hills when a Los Angeles Times deliveryman’s car was struck by a suspected drunk driver.

In the first incident, Efran Reyes Ordones, 26, of Northridge, was driving west on Parthenia Street about 12:30 a.m. when he sped through a red traffic light at Lindley Avenue, Officer Ed Pedneau said. Ordones’ car was broadsided in the intersection by a car driven by Bernard Davidson, 68, of Chatsworth, police said.

Ordones’ car careened into a power pole. Two passengers in his car, Nectali Reyes Ordones, 23, the driver’s brother, and Nelson Javier Colindres, 24, also of Northridge, died at the scene, Pedneau said.

Colindres, who was in the back seat, was thrown through the car’s rear window when the two vehicles collided, police said. The younger Ordones was killed when the car hit the pole.

The driver, who suffered a broken collarbone, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after being treated at Northridge Medical Center, Pedneau said. He was being held at Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Davidson was not seriously injured, police said.

In the second incident, a 28-year-old Sylmar man was delivering newspapers shortly after 4 a.m. on Louise Avenue when his Chevrolet Baretta was struck by another car at Nugent Street, Officer Lee Glozier said.

The man, whose name was withheld until relatives could be notified, was thrown from his car, Glozier said. He died of head injuries later at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, police said.

Rodney Clarkson, 20, of Granada Hills, the driver of the second car, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, Glozier said. Clarkson was being held at Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail, police said.

Clarkson, who had been drinking, hit the vehicle after failing to obey the four-way stop sign at the intersection, Glozier said. Tests were being conducted to determined if he was legally intoxicated at the time of the crash, police said.