Power Pole Is Toppled; 2 Killed : Accident: Boom of drilling rig downs high-voltage lines. An 11-year-old girl dies and a baby is in critical condition.

The boom of a construction drilling rig swung free and severed a power pole within a half-mile of Cal State Los Angeles on Tuesday, fatally injuring two people and critically injuring two others, including a 5-month-old girl, authorities said.

The dead were identified as Rosala Gomez, 27, mother of the baby, and Lisa Solano, 11. The infant, Jessica Laba Gomez, was reported in critical condition at County-USC Medical Center. Lisa Solano’s mother, Lourdes Solano, 29, was in serious but stable condition.

Relatives said the four victims were residents of Woodbridge Village Apartments in the City Terrace area, a short distance from the accident scene.

County Fire Department spokesman Jim Gandee said the rig was heading toward a construction site shortly before 3 p.m. when the accident occurred near the junction of Eastern, Medford and Marianne avenues.

Fire Department and California Highway Patrol officials said that, pending an investigation, they were not certain whether the victims--who were standing near the power pole--were injured by the boom, the broken pole or electrical shock.

CHP Sgt. B.J. Hall said the driver, Rodolfo Olivas, 54, of Los Angeles appeared to be driving “maybe 25 m.p.h.” near the curb along curving Eastern Avenue when the boom swung free and smashed into a 65-foot Department of Water and Power pole supporting two power lines--one carrying 34,500 volts, the other 16,000 volts.

“It appears to be a freak accident,” Hall said after inspecting the scene. It (the boom) just came loose.”

Sitting on the curb about half a block from the accident scene, where the body of the young girl lay covered with a blanket, Olivas said sadly: “It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t my fault. I did it. It’s bad for me.”

Authorities impounded Olivas’ truck and let him go home while the investigation continues.

Hearing the crash, nearby residents rushed outside to see what one described as a “war scene.” The severed power pole lay across Eastern Avenue amid a tangle of live power lines.

Maria Silva, 19, of Fresno, who was visiting her cousin a few hundred feet from the accident, was watching television when she heard a loud explosion.

“It went boom, and I ran out and saw a big flame and people running from their cars,” Silva said. “In one car, several men jumped out and ran away with the motor running.”

Antonio Flores, 19, who lives nearby, said when he arrived “there were bodies all over the street. Of the four victims, you could tell that only two were alive for sure.”

A neighborhood resident, Maura Cordova, 29, mother of two small children, said in Spanish that heavily traveled Eastern Avenue is “extremely dangerous” in her area.

“I worry every day about my children being harmed by the traffic, but I never dreamed something like this could happen,” she said.

Downed electrical lines touched off a small grass fire, which was quickly extinguished by county firefighters. The CHP blocked off streets around the accident for hours while DWP and Southern California Edison crews cut up the downed power pole and secured the broken power lines.

Traffic was snarled for more than three hours. The intersection was reopened around 6 p.m.

Times staff writer John Kendall contributed to this story.