Three dead in Southern California crash in off-road area
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three people were killed when their pick-up truck fell about 200 feet down a ravine in an area of Southern California popular with off-road drivers, but despite the steep drop two men survived and one phoned for help, police said on Friday. It was not immediately clear what caused the five young people, who were in a Chevy pick-up truck, to fall off the edge of a dirt road in a remote part of Santa Clarita, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Eric Priessman. The crash occurred between midnight Thursday and 1 a.m. local time, and hours later one survivor managed to use a cell phone to call 911 at around dawn, said Priessman, who added he did not have information about the delay in calling for help. Emergency responders who arrived at the scene about 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles found two men and one woman dead in the truck, while the man who called for help and another male survivor were discovered at the vehicle and taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, he said. It was unclear if alcohol had played any role in the wreck. Authorities have not released the names or ages of the three people killed. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by James Dalgleish)
