2 Die, Child Hurt When Truck Crashes into River Basin

A man and a woman were killed and a child was injured early Saturday morning when all three were thrown from their truck after it jumped a guardrail on the Hollywood Freeway and landed in the Los Angeles River basin, authorities said.

Kasha Chmielinski, 3 1/2, who authorities said is the woman’s daughter, was in fair condition late Saturday at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The dead were identified as Rafael Perez, 33, of Panorama City and Neisha Chmielinski, 24, of La Crescenta, according to a coroner’s department spokesman.

The victims apparently were not wearing safety belts, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Frank Lewis.

The accident occurred about 2:45 a.m., when Perez, traveling southbound on the Hollywood Freeway in the truck, attempted to merge onto the eastbound Ventura Freeway, authorities said.

Witnesses told police that Perez was speeding, Lewis said.

“He was going too fast, so he slides to the right and hits the guardrail,” Lewis said. “Then he over-corrects, and crosses back over all four lanes to the left and hits the opposite guardrail.”

After slamming into the second guardrail, the truck flipped over the side of the freeway, hit a tree and landed upside-down in the river basin, about 50 feet below the freeway, Lewis said.

The crash tore off the truck’s fiberglass shell, authorities said.

Paramedics pronounced Perez and Neisha Chmielinski dead at the scene, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

Kasha, who was found near her mother, told rescuers that another child had also been ejected in the crash, but authorities were unable to find anyone, Humphrey said.

“After an extensive search, it was determined that there was no other child, that (Kasha) was simply delirious,” Humphrey said.

The accident closed the eastbound Ventura Freeway at the interchange with the Hollywood Freeway for about an hour, Lewis said.