2 Die in Valley Holiday Traffic Accidents : Safety: Elderly man becomes a hit-and-run victim in Sherman Oaks. A Sunland crash claims unidentified woman’s life.

Several serious traffic accidents, including two unrelated fatalities, occurred throughout the San Fernando Valley as the holiday weekend drew to a close, authorities said Monday.

A 79-year-old North Hollywood man was killed by a hit-and-run driver Sunday night and an unidentified woman was fatally injured in a Sunland traffic accident Monday, Los Angeles police said.

Harry Balbert, 79, was fatally injured when he was struck by a red Volkswagen Beetle shortly before 8:30 p.m. near Lemona Avenue and Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, police said.

Balbert apparently was walking north across Ventura Boulevard when he was hit by the car traveling west on the boulevard, said Officer Norman Nagengast of the Valley Traffic Division.

Nagengast said Balbert, who was pronounced dead at Encino Hospital a short time after the accident, apparently crossed the street at mid-block, rather than at a crosswalk.

“He didn’t cross where he was supposed to,” Nagengast said of Balbert. “It doesn’t mean that the driver shouldn’t use [caution].”

Police said it was undetermined Monday whether the unknown motorist was speeding at the time of the accident.

Monday’s fatal accident occurred when a woman driving east on Sunland Boulevard apparently crossed into oncoming traffic near La Canada Way at about 11:30 a.m. She crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by a man who was not seriously injured, police said.

The woman, believed to be in her 30s, was pronounced dead at Pacifica Hospital, said Sgt. Rod Grahek, watch commander at the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division.

As of Monday afternoon, Grahek said, police had not determined her identity.

In another accident Monday, two children were injured in a two-car accident in Van Nuys, officials said.

Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the city Fire Department, said one car apparently was rear-ended by another vehicle at about 1:40 p.m. on Victory Boulevard near Noble Avenue.

Humphrey said the collision caused a 4-year-old boy, who was riding unrestrained in the car that was hit from behind, to suffer a broken leg. The boy, who may also have suffered a head injury, was airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, he said.

A 6-year-old child suffered minor injuries in the same accident and was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital, officials said.

Two other accidents Sunday night left several people injured.

Officials said a two-car collision at Glenoaks Boulevard at Harding Avenue in San Fernando injured at least two people. No further information was available.

And in Winnetka, a Northridge woman and a 5-year-old Canoga Park girl suffered serious injuries in an accident involving a car and a pickup truck.

Police said the truck, driven by Fernando Ruiz, 20, of Canoga Park, was traveling eastbound on Roscoe Boulevard when it collided with a car driven by Pirhiya Goldstein, 49, of Northridge. No charges were filed against either driver but the accident remained under investigation, police said.

Officials said the 5-year-old girl, Blanca Cruz of Canoga Park, was riding in the truck. She suffered multiple injuries and was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center in guarded condition. Ruiz and two other girls also in the pickup were treated for minor injuries at Granada Hills Community Hospital and released, officials said.

Goldstein, who suffered several fractures and was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, remained in serious condition Monday.

“She’s alert,” said Lois Colgin, administrative supervisor at the hospital. “She has numerous fractures but nothing life-threatening.”