2 Lives Lost in Weekend Accidents

Separate traffic accidents claimed the lives of two men and critically injured three others in the San Fernando Valley this weekend, according to police.

In one incident, a hit-and-run driver killed a pedestrian who was in a crosswalk in the Canoga Park-Winnetka area Saturday night, authorities said.

About 8:45 p.m., Milton Lopez of Reseda was walking east across De Soto Avenue near Chase Street when a vehicle northbound on De Soto struck him, dragging him until he was thrown against a parked car, said Officer Guillermo Campos, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

“Whoever did it made no effort to stop,” Campos said.

Lopez, 38, suffered massive head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, Campos said.

Authorities are asking anyone who could identify the vehicle and its driver to call LAPD Valley traffic detectives at (818) 756-8381.

Another crash occurred Sunday about 2 a.m. in Sylmar, when four young men in a car traveling westbound on Polk Street near San Fernando Road crossed the railroad tracks at what may have been a high speed and then lost control, Campos said.

The sedan, which was temporarily airborne, smashed back onto the road, Campos said. It crashed into a parked car, hit a curb and rammed into a telephone pole, snapping it. The car kept going, hitting a road sign and a mailbox before flipping over.

One passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, said Bob Collis, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The other three men were in critical condition and transported to area hospitals.

All four were in their early 20s and from the Van Nuys area, Campos said. The identity of the dead passenger was being withheld pending notification of his family, according to the coroner’s office.