Young Car Buff, Truck Driver Died in Pileup : Traffic: Woman, 20, was going to Upland when her car was hit repeatedly in 30-car crash on Interstate 5. Trucker had worked for company for two years.

Stacey Lynn Long loved cars--including the Honda Civic she regularly drove from her father’s home in Claremont to her boyfriend’s apartment in Bakersfield.

In preparation for an upcoming local auto show, she was driving the car Wednesday to Upland to buy new tires when heavy fog suddenly fell on Interstate 5 in the Tejon Pass, triggering a massive pileup involving at least 30 cars and more than a dozen big rigs.

Her car was hit repeatedly. Long, 20, was identified Thursday as one of two people who died in the massive wreck.

“She was very outgoing, had an excellent sense of humor and was a very caring, loving person,” said Robert O’Connor, a friend of the family, speaking from the home of Long’s mother in Helendale in San Bernardino County.

Long’s interest in cars had been sparked by her boyfriend and her stepbrother. “It’s something they’ve done all the way since high school,” said her stepfather, Jim Falk.

The other person killed in the pileup was Miguel Angel Leanos, 34, of Chula Vista, whose trailer truck slammed into the back of a milk truck. The cab of Leanos’ truck was so badly damaged that it took rescue workers several hours to free his body.

Leanos had worked for two years for J&J; Trucking Co. of Chula Vista. “He was quiet,” company owner Juan Fernandez said. “These things always seem to happen to the nicest people.”

Leanos’ wife and two children, who were riding in the cab, sustained only minor injuries in the crash, co-workers said.

Authorities said Thursday that it could take several days to determine the exact cause of the deadly collisions that began after the fog cut visibility to almost zero about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Twenty-eight people reported being injured in the collision, although that number could increase, Officer Mark Ehly of the California Highway Patrol said.