5 Hurt in Crash by Saugus Speedway

SANTA CLARITA —  Five people were hurt and a stretch of Soledad Canyon Road was closed for two hours early Sunday after a pickup truck drifted off the roadway and slammed into a string of parked cars near Saugus Speedway, authorities said.

The pickup driver, Epifanio Diaz, 36, of Torrance, suffered only minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, sheriff’s deputies said.

“He was traveling at such a high rate of speed that it was just the domino effect when he hit,” said Sgt. Mike Becker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Becker said the parked cars were owned by people attending a speedway event.

Timothy Buxton, 33, of Newhall, who was sitting in one of the four parked cars involved the 1:10 a.m. crash, was treated for facial cuts and released from Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, a hospital spokeswoman said. Three others injured in the crash apparently refused medical treatment, Becker said.