1 Dead, 6 Hurt in Collision

An Arleta woman was killed and six people were injured--including three children--Monday when her car crossed the dividing line of Lassen Street and slammed head-on into another car, authorities said.

Dead at the scene was Josephine Collins, 36, who was the only person in her green Chevy Nova, according to Officer Frank Zdroy of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

Witnesses told police that Collins had been driving erratically as she traveled westbound on Lassen, Zdroy said. She crossed into eastbound traffic at about 3 p.m., he said, and crashed head-on into a white Mazda driven by a 34-year-old Northridge woman who had just picked up her two children at school.

The Northridge woman, whose identity was not released by the police Monday night, was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition with undisclosed injuries.

Her 8-year-old son was taken to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Police would not say how extensive his injuries were.

His 9-year-old sister was treated for bruises and released from the Northridge hospital. With her left knee wrapped in bandages, the girl was in the Northridge hospital waiting room with her father and other family members as her mother underwent emergency surgery Monday night.

“They were about five blocks from home,” said a relative, who asked not to be named, at the hospital.

Also in the second car was the woman’s 27-year-old sister-in-law from Granada Hills and her 5-year-old son. She was listed in stable condition at the Northridge hospital, and the boy was taken to Children’s Hospital, where his condition was unknown.

A third car slammed into the Mazda. The driver of that car was treated and released at Granada Hills Community Hospital.