Injured Driver of Car in Crash to Face Manslaughter Charge

RESEDA — A 27-year-old man whose car crossed a divider line and killed a 75-year-old Van Nuys man will be charged with manslaughter when he recovers from his injuries, authorities said Sunday.

Manual Placentia of West Hills was driving east on Victory Boulevard near Encino Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Saturday when he crossed the yellow divider and slammed into a car driven by Harold Hartung, a Van Nuys retiree.

Hartung was pronounced dead at the scene, said Officer Jim Johnson of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

Placentia, who suffered severe head and neck injuries in the collision, was booked on a vehicular-manslaughter charge and was expected to be transferred from UCLA Medical Center to the jail ward of the Los Angeles County General Hospital late Sunday, authorities said.

According to a police report, Placentia exhibited signs of heavy alcohol consumption at the scene of the crash, and police are awaiting the results of a blood-alcohol test.