Last Updated on April 19, 2019 by CCAR Staff
A driver and a child were killed after a car fell over a mountain road Friday morning, April 19, and burst into flames in the Angeles National Forest.
The fatal crash along Highway 39 sparked a brush fire that burned about a half acre before its spread was stopped, said Andrew Mitchell, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
The body of a driver, known only as “Jane Doe,” was inside, said California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez. A second body, called “Child Doe” was later found.
The car fell at least 200 feet into a canyon area, according to a CHP incident log. Mountain rescue crews with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hoisted the car and two bodies back onto the road by about 7 p.m.
The U.S. Forest Service received a report of a vehicle over the side of Highway 39 near Coldbrook Campground at 9:22 a.m., Mitchell said.
The crash was at mile marker 34, Los Angeles County sheriff’s and county fire officials said.
Mitchell said the campground wasn’t evacuated.
The CHP is handling the investigation into what caused the crash.
Friday’s incident was the second of its kind along Highway 39 this week. On Tuesday, another car veered off the mountain road and plunged into a reservoir near the Morris Dam, killing the driver.
Staff writer Jonah Valdez contributed to this report.
