Accident kills motor home driver

BURBANK — The Burbank Police Department’s traffic division is investigating the cause of a fatal accident that occurred early Saturday morning in the Northwest District.

Kenneth Rome, 49, of Burbank, was killed when his 1983 Allegro motor home collided with a parkway tree and a utility pole, Burbank Police Lt. Ron Caruso said.

“As a result of the collision, the motor home overturned and crushed the partially ejected driver,” he said. “The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Rome was the lone occupant of the vehicle and no other parties were involved, he added.

Traffic investigators are still trying to determine the primary cause of the accident, Det. Chris Racina said.

An autopsy performed on Monday showed that the death occurred due to injuries sustained in the crash, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Department. Doctors also drew blood to determine whether the victim had any alcohol in his system before the crash, Corral said.

The results of the blood test will not be available for at least two weeks, he said.

The accident is the first death of a driver in an accident in Burbank in 2007.

The last driver fatality occurred on Sept. 29, 2006, when Sun Valley resident Angel Castellanos steered his 1992 Infiniti into the path of a Burbank Bus while attempting to make a left hand turn in the intersection of Cohassat Street and San Fernando Boulevard, on the outskirts of the city.

Early in April, a vehicle-related pedestrian fatality occurred when 77-year old Esperanza Medina was hit by a courier driver near the intersection of Olive Avenue and Beachwood Drive. The driver allegedly fled the scene, but was arrested a week later and subsequently charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter and one count of leaving the scene of an accident.