Authorities believe alcohol and excessive speed may have been factors in a crash that killed two people in Granada Hills early Sunday morning, when a car slammed into the back of a big rig on the Golden State (5) Freeway.
The crash was reported at 12:57 a.m. on the southbound freeway just south of the San Diego (405) Freeway interchange, California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball told City News Service.
A 2007 Dart International tractor and trailer, parked on the right shoulder of the freeway, was rear-ended by a speeding 2010 Lexus sedan that failed to maintain the curve in the road just prior to the crash, according to a CHP statement.
Witnesses told the CHP that the silver sedan caught fire. The two occupants inside the Lexus, a 38-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, were decapitated and pronounced dead at the scene. The 35-year-old man behind the wheel of the big rig was not injured.
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The names of the two individuals who died in the crash have not yet been released, pending notification of their families.
All affected traffic lanes were re-opened by 9:35 a.m.
The CHP's Newhall area office asked anyone with information about the crash to call them at 661-600-1600.
