1 killed, 2 arrested in multi-car crash in Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. (FOX 11/ CNS) - Two motorists were arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter for their roles in triggering a three-vehicle crash in Whittier that killed a 41-year-old woman and allowed her son to escape with only minor injuries, police said Saturday.

The motorists were speeding adjacent to each other when one of them lost control and struck a Honda Accord in the opposite lane of traffic, which was occupied by the 41-year-old woman and her 11-year-old son, the Whittier Police
Department reported.

The crash happened at 8:40 p.m. Friday on Colima Road just north of Mar Vista Street, according to Lt. Aaron Ruiz of the Whittier Police Department.

The speeding cars were a white Hyundai and a black BMW, which were going northbound on Colima Road. One of the motorists lost control of his car and struck the other car, causing a spin that sent the Hyundai into the path of the
oncoming Honda Accord.

The 41-year-old woman was pronounced dead at an area hospital and her 11-year-old son was taken to UCI Medical Center as a precautionary measure for minor injuries.

Both occupants of the Hyundai were taken to an area hospital for minor injuries. The driver of the Hyundai, Jacob Zamora of Anaheim, 22, was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter.

The driver of the black BMW, Corey Kiefer of Whittier, 22, was arrested at the scene of the crash on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter.

It was not immediately known if alcohol was a factor in the crash, police said.