Automobile Accidents Los Angeles County

One week after an alleged drunk driver smashed into a stalled car that then landed on his chest, California Highway Patrol Officer Bruce Thomas Hinman died after doctors removed him from life-support machines, authorities said Wednesday. CHP Assistant Chief Doug Orr said Hinman's family made the decision Tuesday afternoon after doctors said there was little chance of him recovering from his injuries.

One week after an alleged drunk driver smashed into a stalled car that then landed on his chest, California Highway Patrol Officer Bruce Thomas Hinman died after doctors removed him from life-support machines, authorities said Wednesday. CHP Assistant Chief Doug Orr said Hinman's family made the decision Tuesday afternoon after doctors said there was little chance of him recovering from his injuries.

Two men were injured when their car plunged 150 feet down a cliff in the West Hills area early Thursday and fire officials say the fact they were wearing seat belts probably saved their lives. One of two men in the car that plunged off the road at Woolsey Canyon Road and Valley Circle Boulevard suffered only minor injuries and climbed up the canyon to get help about 4:25 a.m., Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said. He was taken to West Hills Humana Hospital with minor injuries, Wells said.

CHP officer Bruce Hinman continued to cling to life on Thursday--his 35th birthday--while the man who police say caused the accident that left Hinman hooked to life support machines was arraigned on two felony counts of drunk driving.

A motorcyclist laughed off a warning from another motorist about dangerous driving, popped a wheelie and crashed into a car at 100 m.p.h., killing himself and a passenger in the car, police said. Witnesses said they saw James Pastorella, 24, speeding and weaving in and out of traffic in Canoga Park moments before he collided with a car driven by Richard Stadler, 40, at Canoga Avenue and Ingomar Street.

One motorcyclist was killed and two others riding a second cycle were seriously injured Saturday when the first motorcycle drifted across the center divider and collided with a moving van, said California Highway Patrol officers. The victim, an unidentified 57-year-old San Bernardino man, drifted across the yellow line on a curved section of the Pearblossom Highway and slammed head-on into the truck.

An idling car knocked into gear by a 2-year-old boy ran into two toddler sisters in Lawndale on Friday and pinned them against a garage door, critically injuring one girl. Two-year-old Esmeralda Figueroa, who suffered a head injury in the 11 a.m. accident in the 16500 block of Prairie Avenue, was taken to Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, where she was in critical condition, sheriff's spokeswoman Irma Becerra said. Four-year-old Dora Figueroa was hospitalized in stable condition, Becerra said.

A Woodland Hills couple was critically injured Saturday when their car went out of control, crossed a dirt center divider and struck a pickup truck head-on on the Antelope Valley Freeway, California Highway Patrol officials said. The couple had just missed hitting a nearby guardrail in the center divider that would have prevented them from driving into oncoming traffic, CHP Officer Rick Chisham said.

A Palmdale man was in custody Saturday after he allegedly ran a red light during a high-speed police chase and collided with a car filled with San Fernando Valley high school students on their way home from a pep rally. Two students died in the crash. A third student in the car also suffered minor injuries in the accident that occurred at 9:10 p.m. Friday at Chatsworth Street and Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Mission Hills, police said.

An office worker was killed Tuesday when an 80-year-old woman crashed her car into a Santa Monica office building at 2601 Ocean Park Blvd., police said. The driver, Florence Cohen, suffered minor injuries. She was not cited, but an investigation was under way, said Sgt. James Hirt of the Santa Monica Police Department. Her car made a "direct hit and went all the way into the office, where the man was working," Hirt said.

An idling car knocked into gear by a 2-year-old boy ran into two toddler sisters in Lawndale on Friday and pinned them against a garage door, critically injuring one girl. Two-year-old Esmeralda Figueroa, who suffered a head injury in the 11 a.m. accident in the 16500 block of Prairie Avenue, was taken to Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, where she was in critical condition, sheriff's spokeswoman Irma Becerra said. Four-year-old Dora Figueroa was hospitalized in stable condition, Becerra said.

One motorcyclist was killed and two others riding a second cycle were seriously injured Saturday when the first motorcycle drifted across the center divider and collided with a moving van, said California Highway Patrol officers. The victim, an unidentified 57-year-old San Bernardino man, drifted across the yellow line on a curved section of the Pearblossom Highway and slammed head-on into the truck.

A Woodland Hills couple was critically injured Saturday when their car went out of control, crossed a dirt center divider and struck a pickup truck head-on on the Antelope Valley Freeway, California Highway Patrol officials said. The couple had just missed hitting a nearby guardrail in the center divider that would have prevented them from driving into oncoming traffic, CHP Officer Rick Chisham said.

A powerful storm lumbered off to the east on Tuesday after dropping more than three inches of rain on some parts of the Los Angeles area, and forecasters said more wet weather is on the way. Although no deaths were attributed directly to the weather in Southern California, a husband and wife were killed Tuesday in Tijuana in a storm-induced mudslide.

An office worker was killed Tuesday when an 80-year-old woman crashed her car into a Santa Monica office building at 2601 Ocean Park Blvd., police said. The driver, Florence Cohen, suffered minor injuries. She was not cited, but an investigation was under way, said Sgt. James Hirt of the Santa Monica Police Department. Her car made a "direct hit and went all the way into the office, where the man was working," Hirt said.

Two men were injured when their car plunged 150 feet down a cliff in the West Hills area early Thursday and fire officials say the fact they were wearing seat belts probably saved their lives. One of two men in the car that plunged off the road at Woolsey Canyon Road and Valley Circle Boulevard suffered only minor injuries and climbed up the canyon to get help about 4:25 a.m., Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said. He was taken to West Hills Humana Hospital with minor injuries, Wells said.

A powerful storm lumbered off to the east on Tuesday after dropping more than three inches of rain on some parts of the Los Angeles area, and forecasters said more wet weather is on the way. Although no deaths were attributed directly to the weather in Southern California, a husband and wife were killed Tuesday in Tijuana in a storm-induced mudslide.

CHP officer Bruce Hinman continued to cling to life on Thursday--his 35th birthday--while the man who police say caused the accident that left Hinman hooked to life support machines was arraigned on two felony counts of drunk driving.

A Palmdale man was in custody Saturday after he allegedly ran a red light during a high-speed police chase and collided with a car filled with San Fernando Valley high school students on their way home from a pep rally. Two students died in the crash. A third student in the car also suffered minor injuries in the accident that occurred at 9:10 p.m. Friday at Chatsworth Street and Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Mission Hills, police said.

A motorcyclist laughed off a warning from another motorist about dangerous driving, popped a wheelie and crashed into a car at 100 m.p.h., killing himself and a passenger in the car, police said. Witnesses said they saw James Pastorella, 24, speeding and weaving in and out of traffic in Canoga Park moments before he collided with a car driven by Richard Stadler, 40, at Canoga Avenue and Ingomar Street.