Truck Slams Into Disabled Car; 1 Hurt

A tractor-trailer truck hit a disabled car on the Golden State Freeway near Castaic on Monday, injuring the car’s driver and causing the automobile to burst into flames, the California Highway Patrol said.

Rufino Dela Cruz, 66, of Carson was in good condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for burns and cuts on his head and left arm, CHP Officer Phil Jernigan said. The hospital would not release any information.

The truck driver, Charles Elsenius, 44, of Fontana was not injured. The car’s passenger, Anecito Luzano, 70, of Sun Valley, was helping to push the disabled vehicle off the road when he saw the truck and managed to get out of the way in time to avoid injury, Jernigan said.

The disabled car was straddling the far-right northbound lane and the freeway’s shoulder about two miles north of Lake Hughes Road when the truck hit, Jernigan said.

Elsenius, who was hauling dairy products, said that as he climbed the hill, “I looked away from the road for a minute because my truck was running on the warm side. Then I looked up and saw this car was stopped dead in the road. I swerved the wheel but I guess my brakes were already locked and I couldn’t avoid him.”

The car was knocked about 20 feet off the road into brush, where it quickly caught fire.

A passerby and Luzano pulled Dela Cruz out of the car, Jernigan said. Elsenius was not cited, Jernigan said.