Lancaster Man Hospitalized When Car Goes Down Gorge
A Lancaster man was in fair condition Friday after his car swerved off the Antelope Valley Freeway and crashed down a 450-foot gorge, police said.
Genaro Gutierrez, 26, who suffered head and chest injuries, was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia after Los Angeles County firefighters rescued him from the slope, said Newhall CHP Officer Doug Sweeney.
Sweeney said the accident occurred at 4:55 a.m. about a mile north of Shadow Pines. Motorist Libby Henry, 49, of Mammoth Lakes, attempted to avoid a pickup truck that had crashed and was disabled in the left lane, but her abrupt lane change caused her to enter the right lane, impeding Gutierrez’s progress. In an attempt to avoid Henry’s car, Gutierrez lost control of his Ford Explorer, Sweeney said.
“He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Sweeney said. “He was driving in the second lane and got thrown off the side of the freeway.”
Only five minutes earlier, Juan Aguilera, 22, of Lancaster, had crashed his pickup into the center divider, Sweeney said.
Neither Henry nor Aguilera were injured and no alcohol was involved in either accident, Sweeney said.
Authorities said the crash delayed southbound traffic for about two hours. Northbound lanes were unaffected.
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