Local News in Brief : 2 Killed, 3 Seriously Injured in Wrong-Way Crash in Newhall

Two persons died and three were seriously injured when a 21-year-old woman suspected of being intoxicated drove her car the wrong way on the Golden State Freeway in Newhall early Sunday morning and collided head-on with a van carrying six family members, authorities said.

The dead included the wrong-way driver, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, and Tony Jimenez, 4, a passenger in the van, said spokesmen for the California Highway Patrol and Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills.

The driver of the van, Francisco Jimenez, 26, of El Monte, was in critical condition with internal injuries. Bridgett Pierce, 19, a passenger in the wrong-way vehicle, was in serious condition with head injuries. Both were at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

Another passenger in the van, Armando Jimenez, 21 months old, was in stable condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center pediatric ward with head injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said.

According to CHP spokesman Mike Morrissey, the woman’s 1968 Dodge was traveling south in the fast northbound lane on the Golden State Freeway near the Antelope Valley Freeway interchange when it sideswiped another car, whose occupants suffered minor injuries.

Morrissey said the Dodge continued traveling the wrong way, weaving across several lanes, until it hit the van head-on shortly before 4 a.m.

The driver of the Dodge was pronounced dead at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

Three other van passengers, Maria Laguanas, 24, Jesus Laguanas, 3, and Francisco Laguanas, 5, were treated and released.