Three Killed in Fiery Freeway Crash

Sunland - A couple and a 14-year-old boy were killed when a sport utility vehicle rear-ended a truck on the side of the Foothill (210) Freeway in Sunland and burst into flames before dawn on Sunday, authorities said.

A man described as a passing "good Samaritan" dragged an 11-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl out the back of the burning SUV, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

The children were taken to Childrens Hospital to be checked out. Firefighters said they were not believed to have been seriously injured in the crash on a winding, hilly section of the freeway just east of Sunland Boulevard shortly after 5 a.m.

The truck driver was taken to Providence-Holy Cross Medical Center to be treated for chest pains. It took about 60 firefighters less than 30 minutes to put out a brush fire sparked by the crash, which scorched about a quarter- acre, Humphrey said.

The burned bodies of a man, woman and a teenage boy were found in the SUV, which had been pulling a trailer carrying recreational vehicles, he said.

The couple were described as a man and woman in their 30s and the boy was believed to be 14, according to radio traffic.

The 18-wheeler was legally stopped on the roadside at the time of the accident and was loaded with lettuce, Battalion Chief Wade White said.

A SigAlert was issued at 5:39 a.m. because three of the four westbound lanes were blocked by emergency vehicles, California Highway Patrol Officer Jennifer Connolly said. All lanes were reopened by 9 a.m.