1 Killed, 3, Injured in Fiery Crash On Roscoe Blvd; Driver Faces Murder Charge

LOS ANGELES, CA — One person was killed and four other people were injured in Winnetka Thursday in a three-vehicle, high speed collision in which one of the drivers was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, police said.

The crash was reported at 2:09 a.m. in the area of Roscoe Boulevard and Irondale Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Bureau.

Jose Miguel Mejia, 28, of Northridge was eastbound on Roscoe, driving a 2016 Dodge Challenger that sideswiped an eastbound 2001 Impreza Subaru and also collided with an eastbound 2013 Ford Escape just west of Irondale, according to the LAPD.

"The impact caused the Subaru to spin out of control and it came to a stop in the opposing traffic lanes," Officer Tony Im of the LAPD's Media Relations Section said. "The Ford Escape was forced into an easterly direction out of control as it collided with the curb, a street sign, a tree and a power pole."

The female driver of the Ford, the vehicle's sole occupant, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, Im said. Her name was withheld pending family notifications.

The Subaru driver, a 27-year-old Northridge man who was also his vehicle's sole occupant, sustained minor injuries in the crash, Im said.

Mejia suffered severe injuries and remains hospitalized. He eventually was arrested on suspicion of murder, Im said.

Two male passengers also were in the Dodge. One was hospitalized in serious condition; the other in critical condition, according to Im.

The crash, emergency response and subsequent investigation closed Roscoe Boulevard between De Soto and Mason avenues.

City News Service