A two-car accident Thursday morning on Malibu Canyon Road left one dead and one seriously injured, a statement from California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Leland Tang said. Traffic was closed from Mulholland to Piuma Road after the crash, which happened just after 10 a.m.
The victim was Lyssa Marie Hand, 48, from Simi Valley and Keith William Imrie, 47, from Camarillo sustained serious injuries.
Hand was pronounced dead at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center Thursday. Imrie was flown to UCLA Medical Center with severe injuries.
According to the CHP statement, Hand was driving a Ford Expedition southbound on Malibu Canyon Road just north of Piuma Road when she collided with a Toyota pickup driven by Imrie. Hand’s vehicle reportedly drifted into oncoming traffic while going around a turn and collided head on with Imrie’s truck (pictured above, right).
Malibu resident Alan Ruzicka told The Malibu Times he was driving 40 to 50 yards behind Imrie’s truck heading northbound when the truck entered a blind curve going uphill to Piuma Road.
“It look like there was nothing there, and then all the sudden that SUV was across the double yellow line. Just like that,” Ruzicka said. “That poor guy in the pickup truck had no chance.
“Upon impact the pickup truck got lifted and flew inverted over my car to the right. The SUV was still coming at me. I swerved to the left to avoid the Toyota pickup truck, and then I had to swerve to the right to avoid the Ford Explorer.”
The CHP press release stated, “The Toyota rolled over onto its roof and Imrie sustained major injuries as a result of this collision. The Ford spun around and stopped, blocking the [northbound] traffic lane.”
Traffic was blocked for several hours along the road Thursday after the accident.
An e-mail from Susan Manners at the Malibu Association of REALTORS stated that Hand worked at Malibu Escrow Corp. in Malibu.
Photo by Alan Ruzicka