Traffic Accidents Los Angeles County

Five people died in Antelope Valley traffic crashes Thursday, including four who were killed in a head-on collision reportedly caused by a parolee speeding along Sierra Highway in a stolen auto. The auto, racing north at 90 mph in Palmdale, rear-ended a pickup truck and crossed the lane divider, slamming into a sport utility vehicle carrying a doctor and four of his co-workers. Two women, a passenger in the stolen vehicle and one in the sport utility vehicle, died at the scene.

Ben Vereen, Tony-winning dancer and television star, was in critical condition Tuesday after he was struck by a truck early Tuesday morning on a dark stretch of Pacific Coast Highway about two miles from his Malibu apartment. Vereen, 45, suffered internal and head injuries and a broken left leg in the 2:45 a.m. accident.

Hawthorne police said Monday that rap singer DJ Quik, whose real name is David M. Blake, was the driver of a car that killed a 5-year-old boy Saturday afternoon. Sgt. Steven Baker said the child, a resident of Inglewood, died of head injuries after he was struck by the rappers' Lexus about 3:40 p.m. Saturday. Police held Blake, 24, for about three hours for questioning, then released him on his own recognizance.

A woman pushing her disabled car along a darkened freeway in Baldwin Park early Sunday was hit by another motorist and killed, officials said. The woman was identified as Lisa Contreras, 20, of Azusa, a coroner's office spokeswoman said. A total of six vehicles collided in the aftermath of the 2:40 a.m. mishap along the eastbound lanes of the San Bernardino Freeway just west of the San Gabriel River Freeway overpass, California Highway Patrol Officer Bill Granados said.

Julius and Bennie Espina of North Hills bought a cellular portable phone about three months ago for their small home-care nursing business. Bennie Espina initially put the phone in her purse, but three weeks ago the couple placed it in their car for use in case of roadside emergencies. On Tuesday morning, that move may have saved Julius Espina's life.

Jockey Bill Shoemaker, now a quadriplegic, was not completely paralyzed immediately after his car accident and for several hours thereafter while being treated at Glendora Community Hospital, according to medical records and legal documents obtained Friday by The Times. The documents show that Shoemaker had movement in his head, neck and shoulders after arriving at the hospital following a serious auto accident in April of 1991.

A 20-year-old suspected drunk driver plowed into a car carrying a couple who were headed to work early Friday in Pasadena, killing them in a fiery crash that left a tight-knit family and a university grieving. Jose Villegas, 51, and Maria Villegas, 49, popular custodial employees at Caltech, were killed at about 4:30 a.m. Friday. Police arrested Marvin Bolanos of Pasadena, who they said hit the Villegases' car at about 65 mph.

A 42-year-old Saugus man was killed when his pickup truck slammed into a shuttle van stopped on the shoulder of the northbound Golden State Freeway, authorities said Friday. Jeffrey Gosser was fatally injured when he was thrown partially out of his Chevrolet pickup, said CHP Officer Doug Sweeney of the Newhall station. Investigators suspect Gosser was driving while drunk, Sweeney said, but are awaiting toxicology reports for confirmation. At 11 p.m.

A 16-year-old La Palma girl died at a Long Beach hospital early Sunday, hours after being struck by a hit-and-run driver as she climbed into the back of a vehicle carrying friends, police said. Michelle Bangloy was taken by paramedics to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach with what appeared to be minor injuries, but died of internal injuries about four hours after the 11 p.m. crash, Long Beach Police Sgt. Mike Scanlan said.

Three people were killed and two others critically injured in four separate traffic accidents within a 14-hour period Thursday and Friday. The accidents occurred between early Thursday evening and the Friday morning rush hour in Calabasas, Studio City, Newhall and the Santa Monica Mountains. In the first, a 16-year-old boy died after he was struck by a station wagon while roller-skating in Calabasas at about 5:50 p.m. Thursday.