Authorities believe alcohol and excessive speed may have been factors in a crash that decapitated two people in Granada Hills early Sunday morning, when a car slammed into the back of a big rig on the Golden State (5) Freeway.
The crash was reported at 12:57 a.m. on the southbound freeway just south of the San Diego (405) Freeway interchange, California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball told City News Service.
A 2007 Dart International tractor and trailer, parked on the right shoulder of the freeway, was rear-ended by a speeding 2010 Lexus sedan that failed to maintain the curve in the road just prior to the crash, according to a CHP statement.
Witnesses told the CHP that the silver sedan caught fire. The two occupants inside the Lexus, a 38-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, were pronounced dead at the scene. The 35-year-old man behind the wheel of the big rig was not injured.
The names of the two individuals who died in the crash have not yet been released, pending notification of their families.
All affected traffic lanes were re-opened by 9:35 a.m.
The CHP’s Newhall area office asked anyone with information about the crash to call them at 661-600-1600.
