1 Killed as Van Plunges Off Freeway in Burbank : Accidents: Fourteen members of a Portland ministry’s choir came to Southern California to do church concerts in response to the riots.

A van carrying 14 members of a Portland-based ministry’s choir plunged 30 feet off the Ventura Freeway early Friday in Burbank, killing a teen-age girl and injuring the others, the California Highway Patrol said.

The nondenominational HeavenBound Gospel Music Ministry group had come to Southern California on Thursday to begin a series of church concerts that were conceived in the wake of the Rodney G. King case verdicts and the unrest that followed, said Rev. Lonnie Hosley, the group’s founder and leader.

The accident, which killed LaShay Dorn, 18, of Portland, has left many in the group--mostly young students from the Pacific Northwest--unable to travel because of medical conditions or mental trauma.

“We have been very saddened by this,” said Hosley, whose leg was broken in the accident and who later underwent plastic surgery to repair facial cuts. “We are a little battered, a little blue, but God still gets the glory.”

CHP Officer Ed Jones said a rented van carrying 14 members of the group was heading west on the Ventura Freeway about 2:30 a.m. when its driver, Kenneth Combs, 30, of Portland, swerved to avoid a truck tire.

The CHP and riders in the van said the vehicle struck the tire and the driver lost control. The van struck a guardrail and went over it, overturning and crashing down onto Riverside Drive. Dorn was found dead at the scene, and the others were taken to three local hospitals to be treated. Only Combs remained hospitalized Friday, with internal injuries and a dislocated hip.

The CHP said an investigation is continuing.

At the time of the accident, the group, which had rented five vans in Portland, was returning to the Carriage Inn Hotel in Van Nuys from a sound check at the Family Church in Monrovia, where the choir was scheduled to perform Friday night.

The Thursday night sound check turned into an impromptu gospel service, Hosley said. The group’s return to the hotel was further delayed when a member became ill and was taken to a hospital. Most of the 14 members in the van that crashed were sleeping when they were awakened by Combs.

“He called out, ‘Oh my God, a big tire,’ ” said Shannon Barnes, one of the group’s coordinators, who was in the van. “He tried to swerve but hit it. We hit the side rail and went over and tumbled.”

Tavis Campbell, 17, of Seattle, said he woke up after the initial impact.

“Then I closed my eyes again and hoped I wouldn’t die,” he said. “I could feel us turning over.”

Campbell suffered a dislocated knee and was walking on crutches Friday. Another choir member, Nyla Perry, 21, of Seattle, suffered a broken arm. She said that after the accident the choir members helped each other from the wreckage. Dorn, who had been ejected, was found dead nearby.

“We all got out and took a count and knew that one was missing,” Perry said. “I looked around the other side of the van and there she was.”

Members of the group said Dorn had graduated from high school last week and was looking forward to spending the next year with a sister in Hawaii.

“She had been looking forward to this trip,” said Perry, who was sharing a hotel room with her. “She was very nice and a sweet girl. This is awful.”

At a press conference Friday, Hosley said the group cannot replace the van in Los Angeles because it was rented from a Portland auto dealership. He said a handful of group members would not be able to make a 16-hour drive back because of physical injuries. He also said some of the younger members have expressed a “fear of going back on the road” in a van.

He said the group was hoping local residents and supporters from Portland would make contributions that would allow some members to fly home.

Hosley said some group members may continue with planned performances tonight in Riverside and Sunday night in Bakersfield. He said the group had made the trip south because of the recent riots.

“In the wake of the reaction to the Rodney King situation, we thought there was a great need in the Los Angeles area for ministering from young people,” Hosley said.