Pickup Truck Hits Disabled Car on O.C. Freeway; 2 Killed, 1 Hurt

Two people were killed and a third was injured early Thursday in Anaheim when their disabled car burst into flames after it was struck by a pickup, officials said.

Valerie Hernandez, the driver of a 1988 Cadillac, and an unidentified 13-year-old girl died at the scene, officials said. A 21-year-old woman in the front seat, whose name was not released, was hospitalized with moderate injuries, officials said. All were Placentia residents.

The crash occurred about 1 a.m. after Hernandez pulled her car with a flat tire to the shoulder of the eastbound Riverside Freeway near the Eastern toll road, said Officer Denise Quesada of the California Highway Patrol.

For an unknown reason, a full-size Ford pickup veered off the road and struck the Cadillac and Hernandez as she was getting out of her car, officers said. The Cadillac burst into flames and the girl, who was in the back seat, was killed, Quesada said.

The pickup also rammed into a big rig, whose driver was not seriously injured, Quesada said.

The driver of the pickup, a 37-year-old Hacienda Heights man whose name was also not released, was not cited pending further investigation. Officials have ruled out drugs and alcohol as factors in the crash.