1 Dead, 2 Gravely Injured in Crash
A head-on collision in Van Nuys of a sport utility vehicle and a minivan filled with autistic students killed one person and left two others near death on Thursday.
Police said the 11:20 a.m. crash in the 6800 block of Woodley Avenue occurred when the driver of a Ford Explorer swerved to avoid children in a crosswalk and veered into oncoming traffic.
“The Explorer was driving erratically, weaving in and out of traffic at about 65 to 70 mph judging from the skid marks,” said Los Angeles Police Department Det. Jose Viramontes.
The woman driving the Explorer, with one adult passenger and a toddler strapped into a car seat in the rear, apparently tried to slow when she saw the children in the crosswalk, overcompensated in turning the steering wheel and hit the oncoming van.
She was critically injured and flown to County-USC Medical Center. Three other adults in the two vehicles also received critical injuries and were taken to other hospitals. One of the four died a few hours later and two others were not expected to survive, officials said. None of their names were released.
The toddler and four students in the van were treated for less severe injuries, officials said.
The crash is under investigation.
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