2 Killed, 8 Hurt in Traffic Accidents

Two people were killed and eight others injured in unrelated traffic accidents in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys late Friday and early Saturday, authorities said.

North of Santa Clarita, a 32-year-old woman was killed when she lost control of the minivan she was driving along Sierra Highway and slammed head-on into a pickup truck Friday night, authorities said.

Lanette Ziesch of Frazier Park was driving north near Davenport Road when she veered onto the right shoulder, said Officer Charles Blair of the California Highway Patrol.

As Ziesch tried to steer the minivan back onto the roadway, she apparently turned the wheel too sharply, Blair said. The minivan crossed the center divider and ran head-on into a pickup being driven by Nicholas Zorba, 56, of Agua Dulce.

Zorba suffered serious injuries and was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia. At the family’s request, no information was released regarding his condition, a nursing supervisor said.

Blair said it does not appear that alcohol played a role in the accident.

In Sunland, a man was killed at 3:30 a.m. Saturday when his car collided with a tractor-trailer on the eastbound Foothill Freeway near Sunland Boulevard, said CHP Officer Bruce Ferrier. The man’s identity was being withheld by authorities pending notification of family members. No further information was available.

In Panorama City, seven people were injured in a collision involving a wrong-way driver that police said was alcohol-related.

Gustavo Teneira, 39, of Arleta, was driving north in the southbound lane of Woodman Avenue at 5 a.m. Saturday when his sport-utility vehicle hit the front of a sedan turning onto Woodman from Terra Bella Street, said Officer Carl Helm of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

Teneira’s truck continued for a short distance before overturning in the roadway, Helm said. Teneira suffered facial cuts and was treated at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. He was later arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and taken to Van Nuys jail.

The driver of the sedan, Samuel Sanchez, 22, of Pacoima, suffered a dislocated left hip and a broken wrist and was treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center’s campus in Van Nuys, Helm said.

Five passengers in the car, including two children, suffered minor injuries and were treated at local hospitals, Helm said.