Car Vs. Big Rig Fatal Crashes Weather Related, Officials Say

POMONA, CA — A rainy Monday morning was suspected to be the cause of two fatal crashes in Pomona and Sun Valley, police said. A Cypress man was identified as the victim of the Sun Valley crash, police say.

In Pomona, a woman was killed when the Hyundai Sonata sedan she was riding in rear-ended a big rig about 4:20 a.m. on the eastbound San Bernardino (10) Freeway east of Dudley Street in Pomona. The woman, in her 70s, was a passenger in the car, the California Highway Patrol reported. Authorities withheld her name, pending notification of her relatives.

According to the preliminary investigation, the big rig had stopped in the No. 2 lane because of an accident that had occurred nearby about a half- hour earlier near Garey Avenue, the CHP reported. In that crash, a big rig had caught fire, but no injuries had been reported.

"The (fatal) collision occurred when (the Hyundai driver) failed to slow down for the stopped big rig," according to a CHP statement. "Neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected to be a factor in this collision."

The Hyundai driver was taken to a hospital for treatment of "major" injuries, the CHP reported. The big rig driver was not injured.

Another fatal crash, this time in Sun Valley occurred just after 4 a.m. on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway at Tuxford Street, Kimball said.

It also involved a car and a big rig and one male was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:42 a.m. He was identified Monday afternoon by the coroner's office as William Nakahara, 63, of Cypress.

CHP issued a SigAlert shortly before 4:45 a.m. for lanes 1, 2, 3 and 4, he said. The HOV lane remained open.

Crews worked to clear the scene, an effort that was continuing about 9:30 a.m., the CHP reported.

City News Service, Patch Staffer Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.