4 San Diegans in Bed of Pickup Truck Killed in Crash

Three children and a pregnant woman, all from San Diego, were killed when they were thrown from the bed of a pickup truck that was struck from behind by another vehicle on the shoulder of a freeway, authorities said Monday.

The accident occurred Sunday night when a Toyota pickup truck driven by a 35-year-old man plowed into the back of a Ford truck, loaded with 13 people, that was stopped on the paved shoulder of the Santa Ana Freeway, California Highway Patrol officers said.

The driver, Michael K. Andersen of Whittier was booked for investigation of felony drunk driving and manslaughter, authorities said.

Andersen’s truck, outfitted as a utility vehicle containing carpenter’s equipment, was moving “about 60 to 65 m.p.h.” when the accident occurred shortly before 11 p.m., CHP Officer Dave Boyland said.

Three people were in the cab of the Ford, 10 were in the bed, and one boy was standing next to the pickup, which was stopped on the shoulder of the southbound lanes of the freeway just north of Pioneer Boulevard, Boyland said.

“They stopped on the shoulder because a little boy, 7 years old, had to go to the bathroom,” Boyland said. “ . . . He went into the bushes, and that’s when Andersen came down with his utility carpenter truck and wiped everybody out.”

Boyland said he believed all the victims were related and were returning home to the San Diego area after an outing in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office identified those killed as Angelica Flores, 22, and her 2-year-old daughter, Vanessa Figueroa, both of San Ysidro; Ernestina Sanchez, 13, and Ernesto Sanchez Jr., 4, both of San Diego.

CHP investigators said they were told that Flores was seven months pregnant, but coroner’s spokesman Bob Dambacher said that could not be confirmed pending an autopsy.

The 10 other injured passengers were treated at five hospitals. Two were in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. They were identified as Irma Flores, 20, of San Ysidro, suffering head injuries, and a 7-year-old girl with multiple fractures who underwent surgery to remove her spleen, a hospital spokesman said. Her name was not released.

Two hospitalized at Norwalk Community Hospital were described in stable condition, but their names were also not released. Six other victims were treated at hospitals and released.

Results of blood alcohol tests on Andersen were not immediately available, Boyland said.

“He admits to drinking two beers,” the officer added.

The suspect remained jailed Monday at the Norwalk Sheriff’s Station in lieu of $50,000 bail. Arraignment was set for Wednesday in Downey Superior Court.

State Department of Motor Vehicles records showed Andersen had been cited in 1985 for driving with a suspended license, in 1988 for speeding and in 1989 for changing lanes without due caution.

Sunday night’s crash kept all southbound freeway lanes closed for about seven hours as Caltrans crews cleared the wreckage from the roadway.

Under California law, children under age 12 may ride in the back of a pickup truck if an adult is present, according to CHP spokeswoman Lydia Martinez.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended 11 years ago that states prohibit all passengers from riding in the rear of open-bed cargo trucks.