SIMI VALLEY : 18-Year-Old Man Dies in Pickup Truck Crash

An 18-year-old Simi Valley man died in a fiery crash after he drove his pickup through a stop sign and broadsided another vehicle, police said Friday.

Matthew Birdsall died from inhaling poisonous fumes produced by the burning car seconds after it crashed late Thursday, Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said.

A passenger in Birdsall’s 1956 Chevy pickup, 17-year-old Ryan Downen, was taken to Simi Valley Hospital and transferred to the Torrance Memorial Burn Center on Friday.

He was listed in critical condition with third-degree burns over 60% of his body, said hospital spokeswoman Laurie Lundberg.

According to Simi Valley police, the accident occurred about 11:17 p.m. Thursday when Birdsall sped through a stop sign at the intersection of Austin Avenue and Walnut Street and hit a 1986 Jeep Cherokee driven by 18-year-old Daniel Gonzalez of Simi Valley.

Birdsall had been driving north on residential Austin Avenue at a “high rate of speed,” Lt. Neal Rein said. Gonzalez, who had been driving west on Walnut Street, did not have a stop sign.

Gonzalez was treated for minor scrapes and bruises at Simi Valley Hospital and released.

The accident remains under investigation.

Birdsall, who was enrolled in the special education program at Apollo High School in Simi Valley, would have graduated next year, Principal Joe Studer said.