3 Killed on Rainy Roadways

A powerful storm whipped through Southern California Saturday, dumping several inches of rain in some areas. Three traffic deaths in Ventura County were blamed on the storm, and a 10-year-old girl was critically injured when she was struck by a falling light pole in Palmdale.

The storm, which hit the region Saturday morning and was expected to linger through early Sunday, wreaked havoc on Thanksgiving weekend traffic. Minor flooding and slick roads resulted in hundreds of traffic collisions.

Courtney Triana, 10, was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital Saturday night after being struck by the light pole in a Palmdale shopping center, authorities said. She was walking in a grocery store parking lot when a gust of wind--estimated at about 60 miles per hour--toppled the pole.

At about 7:30 a.m., a Santa Paula Hospital nurse on her way home from work slammed into a tree on California 150 east of Ojai, officers said. The woman, whose name was not released pending notification of her family, later died.

Just after 8 a.m., Jesse Gasaway, 74, was killed when he lost control of his car while driving in heavy rain on California 33, just north of Ojai, and plunged 40 feet down a ravine, officers said.

A third person was killed just after 2 p.m. after being ejected from his car when it collided with a motor home on California 126 east of Piru. The man, who was not identified, died at a Newhall hospital, CHP dispatchers said.

In Los Angeles County, 430 accidents were reported to the California Highway Patrol on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., but none with serious injuries, according to Officer Spencer Ammons. Last Saturday, in contrast, 146 traffic accidents were reported in the same period.

By 8 p.m. Saturday, about half an inch of rain had fallen in downtown Los Angeles, about 1 1/2 inches in San Gabriel, three-quarters of an inch in Santa Monica and 1 3/4 inches in Ventura. Torrance reported .80 of an inch of rain, breaking a 17-year-old record for the date,

“The front moved through really quickly, but it was powerful,” said Kurt Kaplan, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Forecasters expected a break in the rains by Sunday morning, but light showers are expected Tuesday and another storm could hit by Thursday.

Heavy rains and winds were blamed for several power outages Saturday that affected thousands of residents from Inglewood to Lawndale.

Today’s forecast calls for cloudy skies, with temperatures ranging from the upper 50s in the valleys to the mid-60s on the coast. Tonight, temperatures are expected to drop into the mid-30s and 40s in the valleys and the mountains.

Swimmers and surfers were advised to avoid the ocean for a few days after the storm’s end. Storm runoff could contain disease-causing bacteria, officials said.

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Times staff writers Holly Wolcott, Hector Becerra and Michael Krikorian contributed to this report.