Speed Cited in Crash Killing Father, 5-Year-Old Son

PACOIMA — A 23-year-old San Fernando motorist was speeding when his car spun off a transition road Friday afternoon, killing him and his 5-year-old son, authorities said Saturday.

Neither the driver, Gabriel Vargas Sr., nor his son, Gabriel Vargas Jr., was wearing a seat belt when the elder Vargas lost control of his 1990 Ford Mustang about 3 p.m. on the transition road from the northbound Golden State Freeway to the eastbound Ronald Reagan Freeway, California Highway Patrol spokesman Bob Smart said.

The car hit a guardrail and a light pole, then went down an embankment. Vargas and his son were thrown from the car, Smart said, with the father landing on a Honda driving down Laurel Canyon Boulevard below.

Both suffered massive injuries. The son was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said, and the father was pronounced dead en route to a local hospital.

A third passenger, Alberto Sanchez, 24, of Pacoima, was wearing a seat belt. He was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.

Afternoon drizzle around the Valley on Friday afternoon may have been a factor in the crash, Smart said. The transition road was blocked for four hours as authorities cleared the scene.