2 Killed, 9 Hurt in Head-On Crash; Driver Arrested

A passenger van filled with seven children returning from a church event was hit head-on by another van allegedly driven by a drunk driver late Friday in South-Central Los Angeles, killing two people and injuring nine others.

Two children in the van that was hit, a 2-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, were in critical condition with skull fractures at Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on Saturday afternoon, and several other victims also remained hospitalized, police said.

“This was a very serious head-on collision,” LAPD Officer Javier Vargas said.

The driver whose van allegedly hit the other van, Daryl DeWayne Mallet, 23, was arrested and booked Saturday on gross vehicular manslaughter charges, Vargas said.

Mallet was driving north on the wrong side of San Pedro Street near 65th Street about 11:45 p.m. when he collided with a southbound van carrying seven children and three adults.

The van’s 32-year-old driver, who was the father of five of the children, and a 54-year-old family friend were killed.

Mallet, who suffered bruises and cuts, was transferred Saturday to the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center. His license was suspended after a 1994 conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol, Vargas said.