2 Die in Separate Traffic Accidents

Two people were killed Saturday in separate traffic accidents in Valencia and Saugus, authorities said.

Shortly after 3 p.m. in Valencia, a 40-year-old woman died when the car in which she was a passenger was rear-ended by another vehicle and burst into flames on the northbound Golden State Freeway near Valencia Boulevard, the California Highway Patrol said.

The woman was identified as Barbara Moore of Pacoima. The driver, Edward Clayton, 44, apparently noticed he had a flat tire and was trying to pull onto the right shoulder at 2 m.p.h. when the vehicle was hit, a CHP spokeswoman said. Clayton and the driver of the second car were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

About an hour later in Saugus, motorist Michael Murphy, 18, of Saugus was killed after speeding his car through a red light at Seco Canyon Road and Decoro Drive, witnesses said.

Murphy’s vehicle collided head-on with a second car, struck a telephone pole and flipped over, sheriff’s deputies said. The driver of the second car, Kari Liekkio, 56, of Aqua Dulce suffered bruises and passenger Marcia Liekko, 54, suffered a possible injured neck, authorities said. Both were also taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.