Van Nuys : Police Investigate Sherman Way Crash

Los Angeles police were investigating Tuesday whether the drivers of two vehicles involved in an accident at a Van Nuys intersection were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when their cars collided, injuring nine people, including four children.

Blood tests due back next week will determine whether Jose Fernandez, 31, and Richard Condap, 41, both of Van Nuys, were intoxicated at the time of the Monday night crash, Los Angeles Police Detective Rick Talkington said.

Fernandez was the driver of a Chevy Blazer carrying six passengers--four of them children--when it collided with a station wagon driven by Condap, who was traveling with passenger Donna Truex, Talkington said.

The crash, described by authorities as one of the area’s worst traffic accidents in years, occurred about 7:45 p.m. Monday at Sherman Way and Louise Avenue. Police had yet to determine the cause of the crash Tuesday. The Blazer appeared to have struck a utility pole head-on and flipped over.

“Somebody ran a red light; we just don’t know who,” Talkington said. “We have no witnesses.”

All nine people were injured in the wreck.

Fernandez was listed in good condition and Susalia Navarro, 29, of Van Nuys, was listed in serious condition Tuesday. Three children who were also passengers in the Blazer were listed in critical condition, while a fourth was in satisfactory condition.

Navarro was believed to be the mother of all four children, police said. The condition of a seventh passenger, Armando Sierra, 24, of Van Nuys, was unavailable.

Meanwhile, Condap was listed in good condition Tuesday and Truex, a 32-year-old Fresno woman, was listed in serious condition.

It appeared that only one passenger riding inside the Chevy Blazer was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, Talkington said. He speculated that other passengers may have suffered fewer injuries had they been wearing seat belts.

“Usually in a rollover situation, seat-belts make a heck of a big difference,” Talkington said. With the exception of the restraint worn by Navarro, “apparently (no seat belts) were even in the car.”

Nearby residents said the intersection has been the site of countless collisions and that police had stepped up enforcement efforts to catch speeding motorists. Authorities previously stated that the extensive damage to both vehicles indicated at least one of them was traveling at a high rate of speed.

Several witnesses reported hearing no screeching of brakes before the accident.