Santa Clarita Woman, 77, Killed in 2-Car Collision

A 77-year-old woman was killed Monday when the car in which she was riding collided with another at the intersection of Bouquet Canyon and Plum Canyon roads, authorities said Tuesday.

Margaret Welch of Santa Clarita suffered head injuries and a broken pelvis when she was thrown from the front passenger seat of a Ford Thunderbird driven by her daughter, Patricia Ellertson, 46, of Santa Clarita, said Deputy Mike Shapiro of the Sheriff’s Department’s Santa Clarita Valley station.

Welch was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where she died, said Scott Carrier, a coroner’s office spokesman.

Ellertson and Welch were traveling southbound on Bouquet Canyon and turned left onto eastbound Plum Canyon at 7 p.m. Monday as the traffic signal turned yellow, Shapiro said.

The Thunderbird was struck broadside by a Honda Accord being driven northbound on Bouquet Canyon by Priscilla Sorenson, 27, of Walnut Creek, he said.

Investigators said Welch was wearing a shoulder safety belt, but they are not sure if she was also wearing a lap belt.

Wendy Woolley, 27, of Santa Rosa, a passenger in the Honda, was treated at Newhall Memorial Hospital for neck and back pain and released, Shapiro said.

The preliminary cause of the collision was determined to be Ellertson’s failure to yield to oncoming traffic, Shapiro said. No charges have been filed against Ellertson, he said, and the case remains under investigation.