2 Unrelated Accidents Leave 14 Injured, 4 Dead : Collisions: Rosamond boy, 4, dies after father fails to stop at intersection. On California 138, truck with 13 passengers is smashed head-on by a wrong-way car.

A 4-year-old boy and three other people were killed Monday in two unrelated Antelope Valley traffic accidents that also left 14 people injured, authorities said.

In the first and most deadly accident, three people died and 10 others were injured when two vehicles collided head-on about 2:20 a.m. on California 138 near 160th Street East, according to California Officer Miguel Siordia.

Hilario Mata Hernandez, 31, of Panorama City, and 12 relatives were returning to the San Fernando Valley from a family gathering in Las Vegas when their truck smashed into a car driving the wrong way.

The car, driven by 21-year-old Michael Parra of Riverside, appeared to be speeding and was heading east in the westbound lanes, Siordia said.

Hernandez and his 16-year-old niece, Norma Flores, also of Panorama City, were killed in the crash. Parra also died. Ten of the 11 other adults and children in the truck were also injured.

According to Siordia there were three adults and a child in the front of the truck and three more adults and six children in the back, which was covered by a shell. All but one child were injured.

A witness told investigators Hernandez was driving west at about 55 m.p.h. when he came out of a dip in the road and saw the oncoming car. Both drivers tried to avoid a crash, but the vehicles collided head-on on the highway’s center line.

Hernandez and Parra died at the scene. Flores was pronounced dead upon arrival at Desert Palms Hospital in Palmdale.

Hernandez’s sister, Maria Mata, 45, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Desert Palms. Her daughter, 12-year-old Elizabeth, was in fair condition at Antelope Valley Hospital. Both are Panorama City residents.

Fernando Marquez Acosta, 29, of North Hills was in guarded condition at Lancaster Community Hospital. Acosta was sitting in the front of the truck next to Norma Flores’ 18-month-old son Jonathon, who received minor injuries.

Acosta’s wife, 27-year-old Luz Marquez, was also in the truck with her children: Fernando, 4, Yanery, 8, and Lolis, 18 months. Marquez and Lolis were treated and released from the hospital, but Fernando remained in guarded condition. Hernandez’s wife, Maria Elena Mata, 27, was in the back with her daughter Miriam, 9, and son Edgar, 5. The three were hospitalized in stable condition.

The only people wearing seat belts were Jonathon Flores and Fernando Acosta, who were belted together in the front seat, Siordia said.

He added that there is no law against riding in the back of a pickup as long as it is covered with a camper shell.

Siordia said the group had left the San Fernando Valley Friday night for Las Vegas, where they attended a family gathering on Saturday.

They were on their way home at the time of the crash.

In the second accident, 4-year-old Christopher Starkey died after his father failed to stop at an intersection and their truck was struck by a sport utility vehicle just after 11 a.m. at Avenue G and Sierra Highway, authorities said.

The child’s father, Scott Allen Starkey, and the boy’s 2-year-old sister, Kayla, suffered head injuries in the accident. Scott Starkey and the driver of the sport utility vehicle, Rosamond resident Ricardo Renteria, were taken by helicopter to Holy Cross Medical Center.

Starkey, who had just moved with his wife and children to Rosamond, remained in guarded condition in the intensive care unit while Renteria was listed in fair condition. Renteria’s wife, Theresa, suffered moderate injuries and was treated and released from Lancaster Community Hospital.

Starkey was driving west on Avenue G when he failed to yield the right of way to Renteria, who was heading south on Sierra Highway, Siordia said. Christopher Starkey, who was wearing a seat belt, was sitting in the car’s front passenger seat.

His sister was in a car seat in the rear.

Betty Starkey described her great-grandson Christopher as a “sweet little boy. Just a typical boy.”