By Jim Holt & Perry Smith
One person is dead, one injured, following a three-vehicle crash late Monday night and a local man arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in connection with the crash.
About 11:24 p.m., the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station was notified of an injury traffic collision involving three vehicles, a pickup truck and two other vehicles.
First responders including deputies, firefighters and paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the crash at the intersection of Soledad Canyon Road and Sand Canyon Road in Canyon Country.
Upon arrival, officers located a Ford Ranger pickup, Hyundai Elantra, and Toyota Prius which had been involved in the collision, according to first responders interviewed at the crash site.
Preliminary indications are that the driver of the Ford Ranger pickup truck, identified as 20-year-old Joshua Austin of Santa Clarita, was traveling westbound on Soledad Canyon Road, when he failed to stop at a red light, and collided with the driver’s side of the Hyundai Elantra, Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station wrote in a news release issued Tuesday morning.
The driver of the Hyundai Elantra was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of a third vehicle, a Toyota Prius, that was involved in the collision was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
The driver of the pickup truck, Joshua Austin, was detained at the scene by deputies, and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Deputies were still on scene as of 1:15 a.m., according to Sheriff’s Station officials, who added that the investigation was in its preliminary phases, and there wasn’t much more information immediately available.
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Traffic Office detectives are in the early stages of this investigation, however, speed and driving under the influence of alcohol are being examined as possible factors that led to the fatal traffic collision.
Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to call Detective Cramer of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Traffic Office at (661) 255-1121 ext. 5111. You can also submit information through LA CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by using the website www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
661-287-5527
On Twitter @jamesarthurholt
