A devastating car accident killed three of four siblings, all age 13 or younger, Monday morning in Malibu, when the vehicle they were riding in, driven by their mother, slammed into the back of a parked big rig on Pacific Coast Highway at 5:50 a.m.
Two of the children, Virginia Alfaro, 13, seated in the front right passenger side, and Alexis Alfaro, 11, seated in the center rear, died at the scene, said Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Evans of the Lost Hills / Malibu Sheriff’s Station.
The third child, seated in the right rear, Andrea Alfaro, 12, died later at 4:45 p.m. at UCLA Medical Center after she was air-lifted to the hospital. The mother, Maria Guerrero, 34, and her surviving child, Luis Alfaro, 9, were taken from the scene by ambulance, with minor injuries.
The deadly accident occurred on PCH about 200 yards north of Carbon Canyon Road.
The Oxnard family of five was returning from a weekend vacation in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, a more than five-hour drive by freeway.
Evans said Virginia was crushed as the white Isuzu Rodeo hit the approximately 30,000 pound semi at an estimated speed of 45 to 60 miles per hour. The children on the right side were trapped in the mangled steel of the Isuzu.
It took local firefighters from L.A. County Fire Station 70 more than 10 minutes to extricate each person.
Traffic accident investigators are trying to assess how and why the accident occurred. There were no skid marks on the road where the vehicle, reportedly north bound on PCH, crashed into the truck.
When the mother was at the hospital, she said there was a red car in the area, according to Evans, which may have contributed to the accident. Investigators did find red paint on the Isuzu, said Sgt. Kevin Mauch of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, in earlier interviews.
Investigators are also looking into the possibility the mother fell asleep while driving.
Evans said he believes the mother may have fallen asleep behind the wheel because of “the type of injuries–rather the lack of injuries to her.” He said her injuries were minor.
“When they are in a relaxed state, they do not react. That is usually what saves them from serious injuries.”
However, in an L.A. Times interview, Mauch said that Guerrero was not killed because of the angle of the impact, which penetrated deeper into the Isuzu on the passenger side.
Evans said the injuries were so severe because the vehicle hit the truck head-on, on the right passenger side, causing its front end and hood to push and peel back.
Reportedly, each passenger was wearing a seat belt and the air bags inflated. However, the impact was too hard to save their lives.
The distraught driver of the legally parked truck was asleep in its sleeper box, which is behind the front seat, waiting to make a delivery for a local business that was not open at the time. He was uninjured.
The Sheriff’s Department is asking for anyone who may have witnessed the accident, and if another car was involved, to come forward. Witnesses can call the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station at 310.456.6652.