2 Killed in Accidents on Valley Freeways

Two people were killed in separate accidents on San Fernando Valley freeways Tuesday morning, including a woman who jumped in front of a car in the fast lane of the Hollywood Freeway, authorities said.

The woman, whose identity was not known, was killed about 1 a.m. when she suddenly leaped in front of a Mercedes-Benz sedan driven by a 53-year-old man, according to the California Highway Patrol.

“The driver said ‘She just kind of jumped in front of my car,’ ” said CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos, adding that it was not clear whether the woman was trying to avoid the car or commit suicide.

The driver, Simi Valley resident Donald Kittrell, was not injured or cited. Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene.

Officers closed the freeway until 3:30 a.m. to investigate.

In the second fatality, a man was killed when his pickup truck rolled over the side of the westbound Ronald Reagan Freeway near Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth about 5:30 a.m., authorities said.

Greg Hoover, 40, of Reseda died at the scene. He was not wearing his seat belt, authorities said. The circumstances of the crash are under investigation.

Meanwhile, authorities Tuesday identified a man killed the day before in a Ventura Freeway crash as 24-year-old Eagle Rock resident Carlos Torres.

Torres, who would have turned 25 on Christmas Day, was killed when his white 2001 Honda went off the freeway and hit a tree, authorities said.

He was killed instantly in the accident, which occurred near Hazeltine Avenue shortly before 6 a.m. Monday, the CHP said.

CHP officers are trying to determine if Torres was racing and if he collided with another vehicle before veering off the road.

Witnesses reported that the Honda and a dark-colored sports car were going about 100 mph just before the wreck, authorities said. The sports car ran into the median about the same time the Honda went off the road, witnesses told CHP officers. The driver of the sports car reportedly pulled over for a moment, then drove away.