4 children among 5 people killed in crash on rain-slicked stretch of I-5 north of Los Angeles

4 kids among 5 killed on rain-slick Calif. freeway

LOS ANGELES — A pickup truck spun out of control on a rain-slicked freeway north of Los Angeles, causing a pileup that killed five people — four of them children — and injured six others, the California Highway Patrol said Monday.

The three-car crash in the Newhall Pass closed the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 for about nine hours and came at the beginning of a storm that swept through Central and Southern California late in the season, dumping nearly an inch of rain over downtown.

The driver of the red Mazda pickup lost control, spun into the center divider and overturned at about 11:55 p.m. Sunday, said CHP Officer John Lutz.

A Nissan Altima carrying a family struck the pickup and was then hit by a Chevrolet Suburban, Lutz said.

The crash killed the pickup’s driver, identified as John Blackburn, 54, of Frazier Park, Lutz said.

Yessica Milan, a 27-year-old passenger in the Nissan, was hospitalized in critical condition. Her three children and nephew in the back seat died, and the driver, Francisco Enciso, 25, of Daly City, suffered major injuries, Lutz said.

Milan’s children were her daughters Xochitl Hernandez, 5, and Cynthia Hernandez, 9, and her son Edgar Hernandez, 8. Lutz said her nephew was 16-year-old Luis Villegas of Oakland.

“I can’t really describe it. We’re all in shock,” family relative Carlos Vasquez told KCAL-TV.

The family went to Northern California to pick up a First Communion dress for one of the children and were returning home when the crash occurred, Vasquez said.

Four people in the Suburban, including an infant and a toddler, were treated for minor injuries, Lutz said. They were identified as the driver, Victor M. Jarillo, 34, and passengers Joana M. Avina, 27, of Los Angeles, Emmanuel Jarillo, 1, and Jesus Jarillo, 2, all of Los Angeles. Lutz said he did not know the relationship between the children and the adult Jarillo.

Victor Jarillo was found to be driving without a license and was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, Lutz said. Avina also was taken into custody on suspicion of providing false information to investigating officers.

The crash occurred on a rain-slicked road about 25 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, but the weather was only a contributing factor, Lutz said. Authorities were investigating the main cause, such as unsafe speed or a mechanical problem, he said.

He urged drivers to take more care in bad weather.

“When it’s raining, snowing, anything of that nature, that’s the time to slow down,” he said.