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2 dead, 3 critically injured after runaway truck accident
Two people are dead and three are critically injured after a runaway truck accident yesterday near Los Angeles. KPCC’s Steve Julian says the truck driver now faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter.
Steve Julian: Investigators arrested the driver after speaking with him much of the night. According to witnesses, the man lost control of an empty car transporting truck as he descended Angeles Crest Highway, a road that connects the San Gabriel Mountains with the town of La Canada-Flintridge.
The driver careened down the road, passed under the 210 Freeway, then tried to make a left turn. But the truck was going too fast and struck a car, killing its occupants – a 58-year-old man and his 12-year-old daughter.
The truck pushed that car 150 feet into a strip mall, sending patrons of a bookstore and wine store scrambling for safety. City officials accuse the state of ignoring demands to create a runaway truck lane or prohibit trucks from the highway altogether.
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