4 Youths Injured in Car Wreck; 2 Others Flee

Two people were in critical condition after a car carrying six juveniles went out of control on Big Tujunga Canyon Road shortly after 9:30 Wednesday morning, snapping an Angeles National Forest sign in half and skidding about 100 feet on its roof, authorities said.

The two critically injured passengers were airlifted to area hospitals, and two others were taken by ambulance. The driver and the fifth passenger fled on foot and had not been found as of late Wednesday, said Chief Evan Williams of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

After the accident, two passengers climbed out of the car to get help. One stumbled into County Fire Camp 15 and the other walked to Verdugo Hills High School, said California Highway Patrol Officer Karen Faciane. They were the two later transported by ambulance, one to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, and the other to UCLA Medical Center.

Authorities did not release the names, genders or ages of the six people involved.

Both city and county fire department units were called to the crash scene, where traffic on the curvy, two-lane road was delayed for a couple of hours, Faciane said.

The driver was apparently traveling too fast around a bend and lost control of the car. The speed limit on the road is 55 mph, but it was not known how fast the car was going, she said.