PALMDALE : 3 Killed, 11 Injured in Head-On Collision

A speeding Toyota Corolla crossed the center line Monday and crashed head-on into a Chevrolet pickup near Palmdale, killing both drivers and one passenger and injuring 11 other people in the truck.

Michael Parra, 21, of Riverside was the only occupant of the white 1993 Toyota.

The other dead were identified as Hilario Mata Hernandez, 31, driver of the gray 1981 pickup truck, and his niece, Norma Flores, 17. Both were from Panorama City, said Cheryl Goodman of the coroner’s officer.

“Both men died at the scene,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Kerri Hawkins. “Flores, who was riding in the cab of the Chevrolet pickup truck, was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.”

Earlier, CHP Officer Rob Lund said that just “before the collision, the [eastbound] Toyota was in the westbound lanes.”

The crash occurred about 2:20 a.m. on Pearblossom Highway near Longview Road, said county fire dispatcher Emil Moldovan.

Lund said Parra was traveling “at an excessive speed.”

“Four people, including an infant, were in the front of the truck,” the officer said. “Nine people, three adults and six children were riding in the back of the truck in a camper shell.”