Boy, 13, Dies, Father Injured in 2-Car Crash

A 13-year-old boy was killed and his father critically injured Saturday afternoon when a pickup truck smashed into the side of their car, authorities said.

The father and son were heading southeast on Glenoaks Boulevard in a Ford Probe when the father attempted to turn left onto Pierce Street.

A red pickup traveling northeast on Pierce collided with the passenger side of the Ford, where the boy was sitting, said Sgt. Rod Grahek of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

The 45-year-old father was rushed to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills in critical condition, said Bob Collis, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The pickup’s driver, a 19-year-old man, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Investigators were examining the site of the 1:15 p.m. crash, a busy intersection with a traffic light, to determine the cause, Grahek said.

“We’re concerned about the speed of the pickup and the left turn [made by the Ford] and the color of the light,” Grahek said.

Four hours later, there was another car accident on Glenoaks about three miles northwest of the first crash.

Seven people were hurt in that three-car collision at the Hubbard Street intersection in Sylmar.