Car Crash Kills Van Nuys Couple, Injures 2 Children

Ripping apart a family that had just reunited, a suspected drunk driver fleeing police in a stolen vehicle ran a red light and broadsided their car Friday, killing the mother and father and critically injuring their 7-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, police said.

Coroner’s officials said Ernesto Antonio Medina, 32, and Anna Lux Medina, 28, of Van Nuys were killed when a sport-utility vehicle driven by an unidentified 28-year-old man rammed into their car about 12:20 a.m. at Hayvenhurst Avenue and Parthenia Street in North Hills.

Relatives said the Medinas, married for 11 years, had separated for four years but recently reunited, apparently in part because Ernesto Medina was such a devoted father.

Their children, Carlos and Yesenia, were listed in critical but stable condition after being airlifted to Childrens Hospital.

“They look very bad and I am still very nervous about them,” said Anna Elsie Escobar, the children’s grandmother, as she waited at the hospital Friday night while her grandchildren clung to life.

“Carlos has many problems with his head, so we are not sure. But doctors say there is hope that they will get better.”

Family members said that although it was late at night, Ernesto Medina brought the children with him to pick up Anna Medina from her job at a food-processing factory in Chatsworth because he hated to leave the children at home.

“He was very good with them, very happy with them,” said Escobar, mother of Anna Medina. “He would always teach them things so that they would be better people.”

Police said the stolen Ford Bronco was traveling about 70 m.p.h. when it ran a red light and barreled into the Medinas’ small Nissan.

Officers who were chasing the stolen vehicle had suspended their high-speed pursuit minutes before to lessen the dangers of such a crash, police said, but the driver apparently kept going at full throttle.

The driver--who police said refused to give his name--was treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center for minor injuries and was jailed on suspicion of murder.

Police said officers first tried to pull over the stolen vehicle because the driver had made an illegal left turn. Instead of pulling over, he sped off, and a patrol car chased him about two miles before dropping back, police said.

Firefighters found the driver of the Ford Bronco and Ernesto Medina on the sidewalk, apparently ejected from their vehicles, said Los Angeles Fire Department Batallion Chief William Burmester.

Anna Medina was sprawled in the front seat, he said, with the two children atop each other in the back seat.

“It was surprising that anybody survived,” Burmester said.

Police and firefighters worked together for several minutes, cutting away the car’s roof to reach the children, Burmester said.

Because the couple were killed while the driver was committing a crime, he can be charged with murder, police said.

Doctors operated on Carlos Medina for about five hours for various internal injuries, said hospital spokesman Tim Bradley. His sister was also operated on for several hours to repair numerous broken bones, cuts and bruises, Bradley said.

Throughout the day on Friday, Escobar and other family members paced the hallway floors of Childrens Hospital. The two young children did not yet know their parents were dead, the grandmother said.

The couple married 11 years ago after leaving El Salvador in 1979 to find a better life in the United States, relatives said. After working for a while at Domino’s Pizza, Ernesto had been working on becoming a professional soccer player but was hindered by a knee injury, they said.

“He was a person who was very friendly with everyone,” said Ernesto’s brother, Jose Antonio Medina, tears flowing down his face. “Everyone liked him. He was trying to get it back together to play. And everything just came upon him.”

Although the couple separated four years ago, relatives said it was as if Ernesto had never left the home. He would frequently pick up the kids, taking them to play soccer or watch him dazzle the crowd in Resto Del Mundo, a soccer league he played in.

They got back together two months ago, easing back into their lives as a family. Family members said the reconciliation had been going well.

Jose Medina said that the family hadn’t told their mother in El Salvador about her son’s death, adding that the family has no money to fly her to her son’s funeral.

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