A driver’s medical emergency behind the wheel Friday afternoon is suspected of causing a crash that ultimately killed the driver and left one other injured, a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station official said Friday evening.
L.A. County Fire Department personnel who also responded to the scene indicated that the driver of the white Mazda sedan is suspected to have had a medical incident that led the driver to veer east into the westbound lanes of Newhall Ranch Road, west of Rye Canyon Road, according to SCV Sheriff’s Station officials.
While heading east, the driver of the white car was struck by a silver sedan heading west in the westbound lanes, according to Lt. Luis Molina of the SCV Sheriff’s Station, in a phone interview Friday. The driver of the silver sedan, identified through photos as an Audi, was still being treated at the hospital for injuries from the crash as of Friday evening. The other vehicle was a Mazda sedan.
Sheriff’s officials asked motorists to avoid the area surrounding the intersection of Newhall Ranch Road and Copper Hill Drive, due to the fatal collision Friday afternoon.
Newhall Ranch Road traffic was closed in both directions near the site of the collision.
“Please use alternate routes and expect delays,” read the social media post published just before 3:30 p.m. Friday. “Thank you for your patience and cooperation.”
Traffic was still heavy in the area as of rush hour Friday.
Molina confirmed shortly after the crash that one fatality had been reported to him.
L.A. County Fire Department officials said paramedics were dispatched to the scene at 2:42 p.m., and were on the scene within four minutes. There were two individuals treated at the scene at 3:14 p.m., he added.
