Girl, 11, Dies as Pickup Hits Freeway Divider

An 11-year-old girl was killed and two other people were injured Sunday when a pickup truck blew a tire and crashed into a freeway center divider in Pacoima, the California Highway Patrol said.

Lorena Trujillo of El Monte was pronounced dead at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley after she was thrown from the bed of the truck along with four other people, Officer Levy Barnes said.

One of the four, Andres Briseno, 35, of El Monte, suffered major injuries and was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Barnes said. The other three were not hospitalized, he said.

Lorena’s mother, Diana Briseno, 27, a passenger in the cab, was being treated Sunday at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills for moderate injuries, Barnes said.

Barnes said the pickup was traveling about 70 m.p.h. when its right front tire blew, sending the truck into the divider. The accident occurred about 1 p.m. on the northbound Golden State Freeway near the Van Nuys Boulevard exit.