Mother Dies in Crash as 2 Girls Hurt

A Van Nuys woman was killed and her two young daughters seriously injured Sunday after the woman’s husband turned their truck into the path of an oncoming car, authorities said.

The husband, identified only as a 44-year-old Van Nuys man, escaped with minor injuries and was arrested by police, who said he had been drinking.

“He admitted to it,” Los Angeles Police Officer James Van Riper said.

The accident occurred about 5:45 p.m. at the intersection of Woodman Avenue and Saticoy Street in Panorama City, authorities said. The truck, heading south on Woodman, was turning left on a green light onto Saticoy when a car driven by Ramon Alvarado of Van Nuys drove north through the intersection and struck the truck on the passenger side.

Alvarado, 28, who was taking a friend home to Pacoima, said he was traveling about 40 m.p.h. and tried unsuccessfully to stop when he climbed up a slight hill into the intersection and saw the truck.

“I got a green light. He tried to turn--I can’t make the brakes,” said Alvarado, who was uninjured and was not cited by police. His companion suffered only minor cuts.

The two children--a 3-month-old and a 2-year-old--were apparently not wearing safety harnesses as required by law and were thrown from the truck, paramedics said. The younger child was critically injured and her older sister suffered serious injuries, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis said. Both were flown to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

Police cordoned off the intersection for more than an hour.

Van Riper said the husband of the dead woman was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for minor injuries and was scheduled to be booked at Van Nuys Jail.