3 Killed, 4 Injured in Freeway Pileup : Accident: Auto crosses dirt median on California 118 into oncoming traffic. Stretch of highway has a history of fatal crashes.

Three people were killed and four injured, two seriously, Friday morning in a fiery, head-on collision on the Simi Valley Freeway that snarled rush-hour traffic for miles around.

The fatal collision occurred near the Tampa Avenue exit of the freeway, California 118, in Chatsworth on a stretch of road that has a history of cars crossing a 45-foot-wide dirt median into oncoming traffic, authorities said.

The five-vehicle accident occurred about 6:30 a.m., when a big-rig truck collided with a Toyota Celica on the westbound side of the freeway, sparking a chain-reaction pileup that began when the Celica crossed the median, witnesses and investigators said.

Those killed were passengers in the Celica, which burst into flames when it was struck from the rear by an eastbound station wagon, said Jayne Suits, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman.

A fourth passenger in the Celica was pulled from the wreckage moments before it exploded, said a motorist involved who helped rescue the woman.

“She was crying. I looked in the back seat and then (I) and three people stuck in our hands” and pulled her out, said Felipe Rubalcava, 31, of Canoga Park. Rubalcava was on his way to work in Newhall when he skidded into the wreckage in his flatbed truck.

The dead were identified by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office as the driver of the Celica, Jose Alvarez, 24, of Pacoima and two of his passengers, David Vasquez, 26, and Erasmo Calix, 44, both of Lake View Terrace.

A coroner’s spokesman said Vasquez and Calix died in the fire and Alvarez died of injuries suffered when he was thrown from the car.

Alvarez’s wife, Maria Alvarez, was identified as the woman who was pulled from the burning car. The four were on their way to jobs in Simi Valley, authorities said.

CHP Sgt. James Torpey, who headed the investigation at the scene, said it was possible the driver of the big-rig would be cited in the accident. He said investigators will provide details of the accident to the district attorney’s office.

The uninjured truck driver and a man identifying himself as the driver’s manager declined to give their names or to comment.

According to Suits, the accident was triggered when the Celica accelerated from the right westbound lane to try to pass in front of the big rig. That truck, meanwhile, tried to move into the right lane, striking the Celica and forcing it to the shoulder.

The driver of the Celica apparently overcompensated in attempting to gain control of the car and veered left across the three lanes of westbound traffic, through the median and into oncoming traffic, Suits said.

The Celica hit a Toyota 4-Runner in the middle lane on the eastbound side of the freeway, Suits said. The driver of the 4-Runner lost control and veered to the right into a Ford flatbed truck, which then began to spin out of control. The 4-Runner began to roll and ejected its only occupant, Dena Fayne, 26, of Ahwahnee, Calif.

As the Celica continued to spin out of control, it was hit from behind by an eastbound Chevrolet station wagon, and the impact ignited the Celica’s gas tank, Suits said.

The driver of the station wagon, John Trujillo, 32, of Granada Hills, was treated at the scene and released, according to the CHP. In the flatbed, Rubalcava’s 30-year-old brother, Luciano, struck the windshield, suffering cuts to his right eye and face.

Fayne, the driver of the Toyota 4-Runner, was taken to a Granada Hills hospital in serious condition with head cuts, scrapes and a concussion. Maria Alvarez, the woman rescued from the Toyota sedan, was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills in serious condition with second- and third-degree burns over 60% of her body, Suits said.

Questions about whether a barrier should be installed on the median on that stretch of freeway have been raised by state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) and by officials in Ventura County.

In a Dec. 15, 1989, letter to Caltrans, Davis said he was concerned about “a series of serious, and fatal, traffic accidents on the 118 Freeway from Simi Valley to Interstate 405.”

“Many of these accidents have been the result of traffic crossing over the center of the freeway, which is not protected by a median barrier,” he said.

Fatal Crash A 5-car accident, which occurred about 6:30 a.m. Friday on the Simi Valley Freeway in Chatsworth, left three people dead and five others injured. The freeway, which is separated by a dirt median, has been the site of other serious accidents, prompting some officials to call for a divder. Here is a look at what happened, according to early reports from police and witnesses. 1. A big-rig truck, traveling in the center westbound lane, and a Toyota Celica in the right-hand lane, collide. 2. The Toyota Celica-carrying four people-veers out of control, first toward the shoulder and then across three lanes of westbound traffic and through the median. 3. The Celica enters the eastbound lanes of traffic, and hits a Toyota 4-Runner-with a solo driver-in the left rear. 4. The Toyota 4-Runner goes out of control, and hits a flatbed truck traveling to its right. The flatbed, carrying two people, spins out of control, and the 4-Runner begins to roll. 5. At almost the same time, the Celica, which is still spinning, is rear-ended by an eastbound station wagon with a solo driver. The Celica’s gas tank ignites; 3 of its occupants die while the fourth is hospitalized.