Pacoima Man, 18, Killed, 2 Hurt in Broadside Crash : Accident: One of the two vehicles involved was driven by an unlicensed motorist, police say. One car reportedly ran a red light.
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SUN VALLEY — An 18-year-old Pacoima man was killed and two other people were injured when a car driven by an unlicensed driver broadsided another vehicle in Sun Valley, Los Angeles police said.
Miguel Cortez died late Saturday after he was thrown through the rear windshield of a Toyota Camry driven by Javier De Lacueva, 18, of Van Nuys, Valley Traffic Division Officer Jim Thompson said. Cortez was not wearing a seat belt.
De Lacueva was not licensed to drive, Thompson said. He was traveling south on Laurel Canyon Boulevard when he broadsided an Oldsmobile traveling east on Branford Street, Thompson said.
One of the cars had apparently driven through a red light, but police are unsure which one, Thompson said.
The driver of the Oldsmobile, Thomas Funakura, 63, and his wife, Alice Funakura, 59, of Arleta were not injured in the crash, Thompson said.
Two other passengers in the Camry were injured after they were thrown from the car, Thompson said. Alfredo De Lacueva, 19, of Pacoima was treated for a broken pelvis, and 2-year-old Stacy Arroyo, of Van Nuys received scrapes and bruises, he said.
Both De Lacueva and Arroyo were transported to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills for treatment, Thompson said. Arroyo’s mother, Isabel, who was holding the 2-year-old on her lap before the collision, was not injured, he said.
De Lacueva was released by police after questioning Saturday. He faces a misdemeanor charge of driving without a license, Thompson said.
Manslaughter charges could be filed against the driver responsible for the collision, Thompson said.
But first, Thompson said, “we have to have an independent witness” to the crash.
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