County IN BRIEF : MISSION HILLS : 1 Dies, 1 Injured in Motorcycle Crash

The driver of a stolen motorcycle was killed and his passenger seriously injured when he hit a curb while going an estimated 90 m.p.h. and crashed in Mission Hills, Los Angeles police reported Monday.

Sgt. Bruce Heschong said investigators were unsure of the driver’s name because he had no identification. He was believed to be about 17 or 18 years old.

A 17-year-old youth from Mission Hills, whose identity was not released, was a passenger when the motorcycle crashed at 11:25 p.m. Sunday at a dead end on Columbus Avenue south of Los Alimos Street. He was in serious condition at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

Heschong said the motorcycle’s owner, who lives in Sylmar, had reported it stolen. He said the two teen-agers were riding it up and down the block of Columbus Avenue that dead-ends against the Simi Valley Freeway. The pair stopped occasionally to drink beer with people who were watching, police said.

On the last trip down the street, the motorcycle reached a speed of about 90 m.p.h. and the driver could not stop before striking the curb, Heschong said.