3 Dead, 8 Hurt After Speeding Truck Triggers Palmdale Pileup, CHP Says
A speeding motorist lost control of his pickup truck in Palmdale on Saturday, causing a four-car pileup that left three people dead and injured eight others, the California Highway Patrol said.
The victims’ identities were withheld pending notification of relatives, but the truck’s driver, a 33-year-old Valyermo man, was among the dead, authorities said.
The truck was traveling west on California 138 just east of Palmdale about 1 a.m. when the driver skidded out of control on a curve, CHP Officer Gary Butler said.
The truck sideswiped a minivan hauling a trailer, knocking a small car off the trailer and causing minor injuries to the van’s three occupants, Butler said. The truck then hit a Jeep Wrangler, killing the 23-year-old male driver and a 22-year-old female passenger.
“During the collisions, the [truck] traveled over the top of the [Jeep] and came to rest on the eastbound shoulder, where it was struck broadside by a 1998 Ford Contour,” Butler said.
The Contour’s driver suffered moderate injuries, he said. Four other people in the car suffered minor injuries.
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