A 6-year-old girl suffered fatal injuries Monday in a fiery single-vehicle crash near Stevenson Ranch that also injured a second young girl and the driver — a woman who ran naked from the wreckage.
The crash was reported about 9:30 a.m. near the intersection of The Old Road and Pico Canyon Road, just west of the Golden State (5) Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The vehicle caught fire, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, whose personnel arrived and took two patients to a hospital.
A woman who was driving ran naked from the scene, according to Officer Michael Gubelli of the CHP’s Newhall office. She was taken into custody, according to Gubelli, who said the woman had injuries and was hospitalized in stable condition.
There were conflicting reports regarding the age of the younger girl, according Gubelli, who said she was reported be as young as 1 year old. She too was hospitalized in stable condition, the officer said.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office reported being called to Henry Mayo Hospital for a child who had died, but a spokeswoman said the time of the call was not immediately available, nor were details about the child’s age, gender or death circumstances.
Before crashing, the vehicle was being driven northbound on The Old Road just south of Pico Canyon Road when the motorist blew through a red light, crossed southbound lanes, crashed into an electrical box and caught fire, Gubelli said.
Video from the scene showed workers at a nearby oil-change business using extinguishers in an effort to put out the flames.
It was unclear why the woman wasn’t wearing any clothes, he said.
The two girls are believed to be the driver’s daughters, Gubelli said.
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