Temporary Barrier Studied for Simi Freeway After Fatal Crash

State transportation engineers are studying the possibility of erecting a temporary barrier between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the Simi Valley Freeway where a fiery, cross-median crash Friday killed three people and injured four, officials said Monday.

A permanent concrete barrier separating the two sides of the freeway for the six miles between Topanga Canyon and Balboa boulevards is scheduled for construction in 1994 as part of a $39.4-million project to widen the freeway and add car-pool lanes, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Pat Reid said.

Presently, the freeway across the northern rim of the San Fernando Valley is divided by a 54-foot-wide dirt strip. Reid said Monday that the size of the median exceeds Caltrans’ standard of 45 feet, which has long been considered ample space for drivers to regain control of their vehicles.

But the lack of a physical barrier along portions of the increasingly busy freeway has concerned public officials, including state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita), who wrote to Caltrans in 1989 seeking a solution to cross-median accidents.

According to information received by Davis’ office from Caltrans, between June, 1986, and June, 1989, there were 28 cross-median accidents, including four fatalities, on an 18.5-mile stretch of the freeway that includes the location of Friday’s accident, which occurred between the De Soto Avenue and Tampa Avenue off-ramps.

More recent accident statistics were not available Monday.

Davis is encouraged by Caltrans’ interest in erecting a barrier “and will assist Caltrans as they look at some temporary measures,” said his administrative assistant, Hunt Braly.

“At the same time,” Braly added, “we have asked for a compilation of the last two years’ worth of accident data and told Caltrans we will support them in any additional funding requests necessary before the California Transportation Commission.”

Friday’s spectacular, five-vehicle crash was the worst cross-median accident to occur on the Simi Valley Freeway, said Jack Hallin, a Caltrans deputy district director.

“That got us to thinking about whether or not we should continue with our plan” to erect a barrier in two years, when 11.5 miles of the freeway are widened between the Ventura County line and the Golden State Freeway, or to build one as soon as possible, Hallin said.

The decision will depend on the cost of a temporary barrier, which Hallin estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million, and whether the materials might be salvaged when the freeway is eventually widened.

The accident Friday began when a semitrailer truck and a Toyota Celica collided on the westbound side, sending the Celica hurtling across the freeway into oncoming traffic.

Those killed were occupants of the Celica, which burst into flames when it was struck by a station wagon traveling east. Bystanders pulled a fourth occupant--Maria J. Juarez, 22, of Pacoima--from the wreckage moments before it exploded.

Juarez was listed in critical condition Monday in the burn unit of San Bernardino County Hospital.

Her husband, Jose Alvarez, 24, driver of the Celica, died when he was ejected from the car. Two passengers--Lake View Terrace residents David Vasquez, 26, and Erasmo Calix, 44--died in the car.

The Celica also collided with a Toyota 4-Runner on the eastbound side of the freeway, which in turn struck a Ford flatbed truck occupied by two brothers.

The driver of the 4-Runner, Dena Fayne, 26, of Ahwahnee, Calif., was in satisfactory condition Monday at Granada Hills Community Hospital. The driver of the Ford flatbed, Felipe Rubalcava, 31, of Canoga Park, escaped without injury. His brother Luciano Rubalcava, 30, received minor injuries that were treated at the scene.

Also treated at the scene for minor injuries was the station wagon’s driver, John Trujillo, 32, of Granada Hills.

CHP officers were still investigating the cause of the accident and whether it was the driver of the big truck or the Celica who was at fault, CHP spokeswoman Jayne Suits said.

The truck driver, identified Monday as Inocencio Contreras, 31, escaped without injury. He works for California Motor Delivery Inc. of Montebello, Suits said.