MONTCLAIR >> Two people are in critical condition following a violent crash Tuesday night in Montclair, officials said.

The crash took place around 9:30 p.m., in the 4800 block of Mission Boulevard, according to a Montclair police statement.

Officers found a vehicle that had crashed into the center median along Mission Boulevard. The force of the impact caused the front end to separate from the rest of the vehicle, officials said.

One occupant was ejected from the vehicle and found lying in the road. A second person was found on the front passenger seat breathing but unresponsive.

Paramedics flew one of the victims to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, and the second was driven to the same emergency room. They are currently listed in critical condition.

Witnesses said the vehicle was traveling at speeds exceeding 80 mph just before the crash, according to the police.

An investigation is being conducted to verify if alcohol was a contributing factor to the collision.

JOHANNESBURG >> At least 38 girls and young women were killed in a crash while travelling to a famous traditional festival in Swaziland, a rights group said on Saturday.

About 20 others were injured when the truck they were in collided with another vehicle on Friday, the Swaziland Solidarity Network said in a statement. The young women and girls were travelling on the back of an open truck, the rights group said.

Police in Swaziland, a small mountainous country of 1.4 million people bordering northeastern South Africa and Mozambique, discouraged reporting on the accident, said the group. Press photographers were prevented from taking pictures at the scene, said a Swazi journalist who insisted on anonymity for security reasons. However some people managed to take photographs with their cell phones.

A high-ranking police officer contacted by The Associated Press refused to comment, saying the matter was related to the “highest authority,” and no details could be disclosed to the media.

“You don’t hide a death,” said Lucky Lukhele, spokesman for the Swaziland Solidarity Network. Members of the Swaziland Defense Force alerted the rights group to the accident, Lukhele said, adding that he expected the death toll to rise.

The females were travelling on a highway between the Swazi cities of Mbabane and Manzini, when the truck carrying them smashed into a vehicle and was then hit in the rear by a second truck, the Times of Swaziland reported.

“We were about 50 on board the first truck that smashed into the Toyota van,” said Siphelele Sigudla, 18, a survivor quoted by the Times of Swaziland.

The girls and young women were on their way to the Swazi king’s royal residence for the annual reed dance.

“We all have heard about the dark cloud that has befallen the ‘imbali,’” said King Mswati III, using the Swati language word for flower, used to refer to the groups of women dancers. Speaking at the opening of an international trade fair in Swaziland’s economic center Manzini, he promised that the affected families would be compensated. He added that an investigation into the accident was underway.

About 40,000 young women participate in the eight-day reed dance ceremony in which they sing and dance, often bare-breasted, as they bring reeds to reinforce the windbreak around the royal residence, a government website said.

Swaziland is Africa’s last absolute monarchy, ruled by King Mswati since 1986. Swaziland held parliamentary elections in 2013, but many international observers say the electoral process is manipulated to prolong the king’s hold on power. According to the king, Swaziland’s image has been damaged by misinformation.

A man in his 70s died Friday morning when the vehicle he was driving crashed into a power pole in San Bernardino.

There was a medical episode for the driver that resulted in the crash, according to San Bernardino police.

The crash occurred at 9:29 a.m. in the 700 block of East Central Avenue, police said.

The driver’s identity was not immediately available.

— Staff report

POMONA — The coroner’s office identified a 30-year-old female pedestrian Thursday who was fatally struck by two vehicles in Pomona, one of which left without stopping.

The accident occurred in the 3600 block of Temple Avenue around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, said Pomona police Lt. Alex Rilloraza.

Killed at the scene was Lauro Alvarado of Pomona, coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said.

The driver of the vehicle that initially struck the victim stopped at the scene, but the driver of the second vehicle, which was described as small, old and dark gray, fled, said Pomona police Sgt. William Tucker.

WEST COVINA – A man in a stolen car led police on a pursuit Wednesday that wound through side streets and freeways before it ended with the car hitting a pole in Ontario.

West Covina Police spokesman Rudy Lopez said Andrew Escobedo, 19, of West Covina was arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto and failure to yield.

Lopez said police detected a Lojack signal in the area of Azusa and Cameron avenues around 8:30 a.m. Police located the stolen car but the driver didn’t stop.

Lopez said the suspect went on the 10 Freeway, got off in Pomona then returned back on the 10 Freeway. He then headed to the 15 Freeway, before getting on the 60 Freeway and exited at Haven Avenue in Ontario. Lopez said the suspect crashed into a pole at Haven Avenue and Riverside Drive, abandoned the car and ran. Officers caught him.

The car, a 2015 Mazda MX3, was reported stolen Wednesday to Ontario Police, according to Lopez.

Escobedo is being held at West Covina jail on $75,000 bail. He will be arraigned Friday at West Covina Superior Court.

Pomona police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run crash after two cars struck a man crossing the street Tuesday but only one driver stopped.

Around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to the area of Temple Avenue and South Campus Drive for a person hit by a car, according to a police statement. There they found an unidentified man who had been hit and was in very serious condition.

Paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department provided medical treatment, but the man’s injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.

Through an investigation, officers learned that the man was struck by two different vehicles as he crossed the roadway. The driver of the first vehicle remained at the location and is cooperating with the police investigation, officials said. The driver of the second vehicle, however, fled the scene. Witnesses describe the second vehicle as a small, older, dark-gray vehicle.

The fatal incident is under investigation by the Pomona Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team. Anyone with any information about the collision is encouraged to call the Traffic Services Bureau at 909-620-2081.

— Staff report

As tributes to late Verizon Indy Car Series driver Justin Wilson continue to be paid, there is an added urgency to enclose the cockpits of open-wheel cars.

Wilson died Monday night after sustaining a serious head injury in Sunday’s IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway. Wilson was hit by a piece of debris that flew off the car driven by Sage Karem after it crashed. After being struck by the nose cone of Karem’s car, Wilson’s car veered into an inside wall. He was taken out and airlifted to a hospital in a coma.

The talk of an enclosed cockpit — already in use by the National Hot Road Association’s Top Fuel dragsters and by drag racing boats — came to the forefront at a subdued winner’s press conference Sunday as Ryan Hunter-Reay addressed the issue.

“These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed,” Hunter-Reay said. “Maybe in the future we can work toward some type of (canopy). We’ve seen some concept renderings of something that resembles a canopy, not a full jet fighter canopy, but something that can give us a little protection but keep the tradition of the sport.”

On Tuesday, Motorsports.com reported FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), the international sanctioning body, plans to hold new closed-cockpit tests next month. FIA first started work on the project in 2009 following crashes involving Henry Surtees and Felipe Massa. Surtees was killed by a loose wheel and, a week later, Massa was severely injured by a spring.

The idea of enclosed cockpits is not a new concept. More than 30 years ago, drag racer Don “Big Daddy” Garlits stunned the sport by introducing an enclosed driver area in his Top Fuel dragster. That was followed by the late Gary Ormsby in his radical streamliner, but neither made it into competition due to weight issues.

In addition to weight, among the immediate open-wheel concerns are that a driver’s movement and vision could be restricted. Furthermore, there are a number of drivers who have privately voiced fear of being trapped if a car is upside down or on fire. There’s also a concern about a lack of peripheral vision.

Unsaid, but a major thought nonetheless, is that open cockpits have a long history in the sport and are viewed as part of the sport. Yet, driver safety is at the root of the current discussion.

It will not be a cheap conversion. In drag racing, the canopies added weight (currently about 30 pounds), costs ($12,000) and a thorough overhaul of the $250,000 chassis that included new seats, padding and a fire extinguishing system.

Graham Rahal, who won the MAV TV 500 in June at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, is one of a few series drivers who are familiar with the drag racing canopy. He’s engaged to NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force, whose sister Brittany is in an enclosed dragster. Rahal has said that system wouldn’t work for IndyCar, due to its construction. Nonetheless, he wants to explore the option.

“With our risk of hitting fences and walls, I’d be concerned about that thing popping open when you don’t want it to,” Rahal told USA Today this week. “We’d have to be more creative.”

Then there’s the length of the event. A drag race may last 20 seconds in total time, while a 500-mile race, such as the Fontana event, lasted just under three hours.

“You can’t bake in there. We have to think how we’d (design) it and build it,” said Rahal.

Of the five current drag racers who use the canopies, three drive for Don Schumacher Racing. Tony Schumacher was the first NHRA racer who competed with it, while Antron Brown has twice escaped injury with the enclosure. The first time was at the 2014 Winternationals in Pomona.

In May of this year at Atlanta, Brown again credited the canopy for surviving.

“(The wing) headed right back at me and hit the canopy,” Brown said at the time. “It hit so hard that it buckled it but didn’t break it. I was going 315 mph at the time.

“If the canopy hadn’t been there to stop the wing, it would have hit me in the head. I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you today.”

Escaping such threats are what convinced Tony Schumacher to use the device, originally engineered by crew chief Mike Green and James Brendel, owner of Hondo Boats and Brendel Safety Capsules in Riverside.

“That’s the exact reason I use it,” Schumacher said to USA Today of Wilson’s injury. “I don’t know what’s coming off the car next to me, what’s coming out of the stands. I don’t know if I’m going to hit a bird. I’ve hit three birds. I’m going 330 mph and if (the bubble) can deflect it in some way, I’d like it to do that.

“I’ll say it for the millionth time: I’m glad it’s not mandatory, but I’m surprised everyone doesn’t use it. I wouldn’t drive a car without it.”

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials today submitted their investigation of a fatal Malibu traffic crash involving Caitlyn Jenner to the District Attorney’s Office, which will determine if a criminal case is warranted.

The District Attorney’s Major Crimes Division will review the potential case against Jenner, according to Greg Risling of the District Attorney’s Office.

Sheriff’s officials said last week their investigation determined that Jenner, then known as Bruce Jenner, was driving at an unsafe speed when the Feb. 7 collision occurred on Pacific Coast Highway near Corral Canyon Road. Sheriff’s officials said Jenner was not speeding, but was driving at an unsafe speed for the road conditions.

• PHOTOS: The Jenner crash scene in Malibu

The investigation could potentially lead to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, but prosecutors will have the final say on what charge, if any, is warranted.

Surveillance video of the crash released in July appears to show the ex-Olympian rear-ending a white Lexus, which is forced into oncoming traffic and slams into an oncoming Hummer, killing the Lexus driver.

Relatives of the Lexus driver, 69-year-old Kim Howe, have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Jenner, who was not injured in the crash and now identifies as a woman.

Jenner, 65, was driving a Cadillac Escalade, hauling an off-road vehicle on a trailer. Shortly after the crash, authorities said it appeared that Howe’s Lexus had crashed into a black Toyota Prius whose driver had slowed or stopped for unknown reasons, prompting Jenner to rear-end the Lexus, pushing it into the path of the Hummer.

The video released in July appeared to show Jenner rear-ending the Lexus, pushing it into oncoming traffic, then striking the Prius, which was driven by Hollywood talent manager Jessica Marie Steindorff. Steindorff has also sued Jenner over the crash.

A sheriff’s official told the Los Angeles Times that Steindorff was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash, and she could face a criminal charge.

Jenner’s attorney, Philip Boesch, told City News Service in July he believes the surveillance video weighs in Jenner’s favor and confirmed that the crash “was simply a tragic accident.”

Shortly after the February crash, Jenner released a statement saying, “My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loves ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident. It’s a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible.”

LOS ANGELES — A former armored truck driver for Loomis was sentenced today to almost five years in federal prison for orchestrating the theft of more than $1 million in cash, part of a shipment he was transporting for Bank of America in Los Angeles last year.

Cesar Yanez, 38, of Fontana, pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy and bank larceny charges in connection with the robbery on June 27, 2014.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II said that since only $115,000 of the stolen $1 million has been recovered, Yanez is “likely aware of the whereabouts” of the remaining cash.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Yanez was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $970,000 in restitution.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Rhoades, Yanez and fellow Loomis driver Aldo Vega, 28, of Pomona were transporting a multimillion-dollar shipment of cash for Bank of America when they stopped in a parking lot on West Adams Boulevard.

Vega electronically opened the rear doors of the armored car, which allowed Yanez to access the cash storage area of the vehicle, Rhoades said.

Yanez then took about $1 million in cash from the armored car and placed it into a trash can that had allegedly been left in the parking by his wife, Leticia Yanez, who picked up the can afterwards and recovered the stolen money, federal prosecutors stated.

Later, family friend Jovita Guzman, 40, of San Bernardino delivered some of the stolen money to Vega, Rhoades said.

During search warrants executed at the Yanez home and elsewhere, agents found about $115,000 in cash, the prosecutor said.

Vega pleaded guilty to his part in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

Leticia Yanez and Guzman are scheduled to stand trial in October.

According to Rhoades, the FBI received a tip, leading to an undercover operation that resulted in the arrests last November.

Quoting from a probation report, Wright said that Cesar Yanez grew up in Compton with 11 brothers and sisters. He has been married for almost 18 years and the couple have three children.

The judge said that the wife is currently receiving unemployment and food stamps and is “struggling” to make ends meet.

Officials said the investigation into the missing cash is continuing.