Accident Kills Couple, Badly Injures Child, 1

A San Jose-area couple were killed and a toddler was seriously injured when they were thrown from a pickup truck traveling at an estimated 100 m.p.h. on the Golden State Freeway near Lebec, the California Highway Patrol said Monday.

Killed were Louis Martinez, 31, and Maria Martinez, 25, said CHP Officer Mark Ehly. One-year-old Yessinia Martinez was listed in serious but stable condition at Kern County Medical Center in Bakersfield, Ehly said.

The accident occurred about 2 p.m. Sunday as the Martinezes were traveling north, about three miles south of the Grapevine, Ehly said. The truck apparently swerved to avoid another vehicle, climbed a divider wall, flew about 30 feet and came to rest in a ravine between the north- and southbound lanes.

Ehly said the accident appeared to be alcohol-related because several bottles of brandy and rum were found in the truck. Neither adult was wearing a seat belt, and there was no child seat, he said.