1 Man Dead, 1 Injured as Car Hits Tree

A Burbank man was killed and his passenger critically injured Thursday when their car swerved into a tree in a center road divider, authorities said.

Louis Galvan Jr., 18, died at the scene of the 1:50 p.m. accident, said Sgt. Rod Grahek of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Galvan lost control on Glenoaks Boulevard and hit a tree just south of Roscoe Boulevard, Grahek said. A light rain was falling at the time of the accident, he added.

Galvan’s passenger, a 21-year-old Sunland man who remained unidentified, was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was listed in critical condition with injuries to his pelvis and leg, Grahek said.

“The car was wrapped around the tree,” said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. “The deceased had to be removed first from the wreckage so the firefighters could gain access to the survivor.”

It took 20 firefighters, including a heavy rescue unit based in Silver Lake, about 45 minutes to remove the passenger from the mangled car, Humphrey said.