Mother Held in Son’s Crash Death

The mother of a 7-year-old boy may face murder charges after her son was killed Wednesday night when her car struck a parked flatbed truck in North Hollywood, police said.

Lynn Julian, 30, of North Hollywood, was booked on second-degree murder charges at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, where she is in stable condition, police said.

Julian allegedly was in possession of illicit drugs and under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Charlotte Broughton. Police would not say what kind of drugs were involved.

Her 7-year-old son, Tyler Chernoff, suffered massive head injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

Julian was driving a 1984 Toyota Supra southbound in the 4900 block of Vineland Avenue when the accident occurred about 9:10 p.m. Wednesday. She suddenly veered to the right and smashed into the rear of the unoccupied parked truck, police said.

Firefighters used hydraulic tools to extricate the boy from the front passenger seat. Both Julian and her son were wearing seat belts.

Julian has had previous legal problems. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in 1993, but the charge was reduced to aiding and abetting a speed contest. She was sentenced to a year’s probation, according to court documents.

She had her driver’s license suspended at least twice, once in 1991 and again in 1998. In the latter case, she was given three years’ probation, court documents show.

A 1995 case involving a drug possession charge is still pending.