Child Killed in I-5 Crash Near Gorman

  • At approximately 6:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4 the left rear tire blew out on this van traveling southbound on Interstate 5, just south of Gorman. An eight-year-old passenger was killed. The driver and two passengers were also injured. [Photo by Cat Buckles]

    At approximately 6:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4 the left rear tire blew out on this van traveling southbound on Interstate 5, just south of Gorman. An eight-year-old passenger was killed. The driver and two passengers were also injured. [Photo by Cat Buckles]

On Monday, Aug. 4, Priya Sen, 8 suffered fatal injuries in a single-car accident on Interstate 5, just south of Gorman. Her family was traveling from British Columbia, Canada.

At about 6:45 p.m. California Highway Patrol officers from Fort Tejon and Los Angeles County Fire Department Engine 77 responded to the scene. Anit Sen, 37, from Surrey, British Columbia was driving a 1991 GMC Rally van past Gorman when the left rear tire blew out. Mr. Sen lost control of the van and veered across the two right lanes, striking the asphalt curb to become airborne. As the van hit the dirt embankment, it rolled into a ditch and came to rest on its roof.

The driver suffered major injuries and was taken by L.A. County Fire Department helicopter to University of Southern California Medical Center. Two passengers, also from Surrey, were transported by AMR Ambulance to Henry Mayo Memorial Hospital in Newhall. Shabeena Chander, 34 suffered moderate injuries and Manisha Sen, 2 incurred minor injuries.

An investigation is ongoing, however no drugs or alcohol are suspected in the collision. All passengers were using proper safety equipment.

Reported by Cat Buckles

This is part of the August 08, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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