Child, 6, Seriously Hurt in 3-Vehicle Accident
A car carrying three children to school collided with a truck Monday morning, leaving a 6-year-old girl with serious internal injuries.
The girl, who was airlifted to the UCLA Medical Center, was upgraded from critical to stable condition by Monday afternoon after suffering damage to her liver, according to police. The five others involved in the accident, including the 6-year-old’s mother, who was driving, were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals, police said.
Reyna Funez, 41, of Van Nuys was driving her daughter and two other children to Hazeltine Elementary School about 7:55 a.m., heading north on Hazeltine Avenue. As Funez was turning left onto Hamlin Street, police said, her car was struck by a truck heading south.
The truck hit the car on the passenger side, where the girl who suffered internal injuries was sitting.
The car in turn hit a third vehicle. The driver of the third car was treated for minor injuries by paramedics at the scene.
The driver of the truck, Heraclio Rodriguez, 40, of Van Nuys, suffered minor injuries but was being kept overnight at the Sherman Way campus of Northridge Hospital Medical Center so doctors could monitor an erratic heartbeat, Madera said.
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