Southern California

KATHMANDU, Nepal >> The bodies of six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese soldiers who were aboard a Marine helicopter that crashed during a relief mission in earthquake-hit Nepal have been identified, officials said Sunday.

The wreckage of the UH-1 “Huey” was found Friday following days of intense searching in the mountains northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital. The first three charred bodies were retrieved Friday by Nepalese and U.S. military teams, and the rest were found Saturday.

The U.S. Marines who were killed were Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, from Nebraska, Capt. Christopher L. Norgren, from Kansas, Sgt. Ward M. Johnson IV, from Florida, Sgt. Eric M. Seaman, from California, Cpl. Sara A. Medina, from Illinois, and Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug, from Arizona, according to a statement from the U.S. military joint task force in Okinawa, Japan.

Nepal’s army identified its soldiers as Tapendra Rawal and Basanta Titara, and said all eight bodies have been flown to Kathmandu.

The U.S. relief mission was deployed after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, killing more than 8,200 people. A magnitude-7.3 quake struck the country on Tuesday, killing at least 117 people and injuring about 2,800.

The helicopter went missing Tuesday while delivering rice and tarps in Charikot, the area worst hit by that day’s quake. It had dropped off supplies in one location and was en route to a second site when contact was lost.

The cause of the crash has not been determined. U.S. military officials have said that an Indian helicopter in the air nearby heard radio chatter from the Huey aircraft about a possible fuel problem.

Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report.

INDUSTRY >> A Baldwin Park man and an Ontario woman died early Saturday when the car they were passengers in veered off the roadway and struck a tree along the 60 Freeway in an unincorporated county area near Industry, authorities said.

Paramedics pronounced the 49-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman dead at the scene, officials said. Their names were not released pending notification of family members, according to Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

A 24-year-old Ontario man who was driving the car and an Ontario woman also riding as a passenger suffered major injuries in the 2:40 a.m. crash on the eastbound 60 Freeway, just west of the 605 Freeway, Officer T. Kinzler of the California Highway Patrol’s East Los Angeles office said in a written statement.

The 2006 Scion TC was traveling at high speed prior to the crash, Kinzler said.

“For unknown reasons, (the driver) lost control of the vehicle and traveled in a southerly direction across all lanes,” the officer said. “The vehicle traveled into the dirt gore point and collided with a tree.”

Any witnesses to the crash can reach the CHP’s East Los Angeles Office at 323-980-4600.

POTISKUM, Nigeria >> A teenage suicide bomber blew herself up and killed seven other people Saturday outside a bustling bus station in the northeast Nigerian town of Damaturu, the state medical director said of the latest in a string of attacks this week by Nigeria’s home-grown Boko Haram extremists.

Thirty-three people were seriously injured and are being treated at the hospital, said Yobe state’s medical director Garba Musa Fika. Seven are in critical condition and could die if they are not moved to specialist hospitals, according to a nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to reporters.

Most victims are women and children among hawkers who sell smoked fish and packets of water at the exit gate to Damaturu Central Motor Park, he said.

The attack comes two weeks after Nigeria’s military said it destroyed about 20 insurgent camps and freed some 700 kidnapped women and children in the Sambisa Forest, where they said the main insurgent fighting force was trapped.

But hundreds of militants tried to attack the biggest military base in northeastern Nigeria on Wednesday night but were repelled by troops at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state and the most populous city in the northeast.

On Friday, Boko Haram seized back the border town of Marte, officials said.

Maiduguri is some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the nearest reaches of the Sambisa Forest and Marte is even further north.

A week ago, a gunman and suicide bomber attacked a business school in Potiskum, near Damaturu, killing a student and leaving many injured.

A multinational offensive by Nigeria and its neighbors has driven the extremists from all northeastern towns in a 14-week-long offensive. But the Nigerians appear to have bogged down in the Sambisa Forest, where Boko Haram has laid land mines and booby traps.

Thousands have died in the nearly 6-year-old Islamic uprising, about 10,000 last year alone, and more than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes, some across borders.

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Umar reported from Maiduguri, Nigeria and Associated Press writer Michelle Faul contributed from Lagos, Nigeria.

DIAMOND BAR >> The driver of big rig was seriously injured Friday morning after his truck hit a stalled truck on the east 60 Freeway.

The 1:23 a.m. collision east of Grand Avenue shut down most of the eastbound lanes for nearly seven hours, causing traffic to back up.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Maehr said a Freightliner truck stalled in the No. 3 lane of the freeway possibly because of engine trouble.

The seriously injured driver was traveling 50 mph in the same lane and said he didn’t see the stalled Freightliner, which had its hazard lights on, before the collision.

Maehr said debris hit a car passing in the next lane. He described the vehicle only as a Honda.

Los Angeles County firefighters extricated the 42-year-old Chino man who was driving the stalled truck. Maehr said the man’s injuries included a broken femur and complaint of pain. He was transported driver to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center in serious condition.

He said the other truck driver, a 50-year-old Baldwin Park man, and the 22-year-old Diamond Bar woman driving the car weren’t injured.

All but the carpool lane were closed. One eastbound lane reopened at 4:48 a.m. The other lanes reopened shortly before 8 a.m.

Three motorcycle riders were treated for injuries Wednesday morning after their bikes crashed on the 15 Freeway just south of Oak Hill Road.

All were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

The crash occurred just before 8:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the 15.

Lynn Elbe, 71, of Ohio lost control of his Harley Davidson motorcycle and was knocked off his bike, authorities said.

The crash caused two other riders to fall to avoid a collision. They were identified as George Mocabee, 64, of Upland and William Ray, 64, of Las Vegas.

The incident caused traffic delays in the Cajon Pass for several hours.

— Staff Report

LOS ANGELES — Metro will provide free bus and train rides for Los Angeles County bicyclists today as part of “Bike to Work Day,” one of several events being held for the Bike Week LA bicycle and pedestrian safety campaign.

Along with Metro, other Los Angeles County transit providers that will be offering free rides throughout the day are Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus, Commerce, Culver City Bus, Glendale Beeline, Long Beach Transit, Montebello Bus Lines, Norwalk Transit, Torrance Transit, LADOT, Beach Cities Transit, City of El Monte Transit, Pasadena ARTS and Carson.

Those who board participating buses and trains with a bicycle or bike helmet will ride for free. Additionally, Metrolink will offer free transit rides for bicyclists through the week.

More than 60 bicycle pit stops will be manned by schools, workplaces, advocacy groups and other local organizations, according to Metro. Free giveaways, refreshments and bicycling information will be available at the various pit stop locations.

People who pledge to bike to work may also be eligible to win prizes by posting pictures of their commutes on Twitter or Instagram with BikeWeekLA or pledging online at www.metro.net/bikeweek. Prizes include a REI Novarra Buzz city bike.

For a map of bicycle pit stop locations, visit www.metro.net/bikeweek.

A Pomona man was killed and several others hurt in a crash late Wednesday night.

The unidentified man was killed just before 11 p.m. in the area of Holt Avenue and Weber Street in a collision involving three vehicles, according to a Pomona police news release.

The 41-year-old man was the driver and only occupant in a Toyota Corolla. His name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

The occupants of the other vehicles involved suffered minor to moderate injuries and were treated at local hospitals, authorities said.

Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call the Traffic Services Bureau at 909-620-2081.

— Staff report

POMONA — A man was killed and three people suffered minor injuries in a three-car collision in Pomona, police said today.

The collision was reported near the intersection of West Holt Avenue and North Weber Street around 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, Pomona police Sgt. Iain Miller said. The cause of the collision was being investigated, he said.

No information was immediately released about the man who was killed. The three people injured were hospitalized, police said.

If lawyers for 22-year-old Olivia Carolee Culbreath of Fontana are unable to reach a settlement with prosecutors in the wrong-way crash that killed six people last year on the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar, a trial on murder charges could start later this year.

The news came during a pretrial hearing Wednesday for Culbreath at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Judge Sam Ohta told the lawyers that the case could be settled if there was a pre-trial agreement, and if there is a trial, that it would be at the end of the year, said Robert Sheahen, one of Culbreath’s defense lawyers.

“The judge feels like its the kind of case that shouldn’t go to trial,” Sheahen said. “We would be open to a settlement, but it’s too early in the case right now.”

Elizabeth Padilla, the Los Angeles County deputy district attorney assigned to the case, could not be reached for comment.

Culbreath was late to Wednesday’s pretrial conference.

“She’s still in a wheelchair,” Sheahen said. “It’s still a terrible situation for her. She’s deeply remorseful for everything. She would go in for life. Her sister is dead,” he continued.

The main purpose of Wednesday’s hearing was to set trial dates.

Kelly Sheahen Gerner, another defense lawyer, said the next court date is Aug. 5 for pretrial and will begin the discovery compliance stage.

Gerner also said that because the judge’s courtroom is booked from September until the end of the year, a trial date might be set for early next year or the case could be sent to a different courtroom.

Culbreath is accused of driving a Chevrolet Camaro east on the westbound 60 Freeway when she crashed head-on into a Ford Explorer. Another vehicle crashed into the Explorer, authorities said .

Two passengers died in Culbreath’s car, one of them Culbreath’s sister, Maya, 24, of Rialto. The other was Kristin Young, 21 of Chino. Four Huntington Park residents were in the SUV and were thrown from the vehicle: Gregorio Mejia-Martinez, 47, Leticia Ibarra, 42, Jessica Mejia, 20, and Ester Delgado, 80.

Culbreath has been charged with six counts of murder and could serve a life sentence if convicted. She is being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles in lieu of $6 million bail.

At a pretrial hearing in January, a judge determined there was sufficient evidence for Culbreath to be tried.

CHP Officer Matthew Lentz testified at the hearing that Culbreath’s blood had 0.15 percent blood alcohol concentration. In California, a motorist is considered impaired with a 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration.

Culbreath pleaded not guilty at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Courts Center in Los Angeles in February.