Baby in Car Crash Succumbs to Injuries

Six-month-old Kiel Parker, who was in a car crash that killed his young mother and two other adults, fought to live for a full day after the single-car accident. But the baby died Friday night at Childrens Hospital, succumbing to head injuries.

The accident occurred on Glenoaks Boulevard in Sun Valley on Thursday night, when Kiel’s mother, Shannon Parker, 19, of Tujunga, lost control of a rental car and crashed into a tree in the center divider just south of Roscoe Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Parker, who had never obtained a driver’s license and may have been speeding, was dead at the scene, police traffic officials said. Passengers Leland Lupton, 18, and Michael R. Ortolano, 20, both of the Sunland-Tujunga area, were also killed.

Kiel was still strapped in his child safety seat until pulled from the wreckage by onlookers, police said. The baby was rushed to Childrens Hospital in critical condition.

Doctors and neurosurgeons worked on Kiel around the clock until he died from extreme head trauma at 11:05 p.m. Friday, hospital spokesman Steve Rutledge said.