Tarzana Chain Reaction Crash Victim Identified

By City News Service

The 64-year-old woman who was killed in a chain reaction crash in Tarzana involving seven vehicles was identified Friday by the coroner's office as Cynthia Kirk of Los Angeles.

It was unclear if the driver whose car rear-ended another vehicle, setting off the chain reaction, was facing any charges in connection with the crash.

The crash occurred about 11 p.m. Monday on eastbound Ventura Boulevard, east of Corbin Avenue, said Los Angeles police Detective Bill Bustos of the Valley Traffic Division.

Kirk died at the scene.

According to the preliminary investigation, a 1999 Ford Taurus driven by a 33-year-old man rear-ended Kirk's 2003 Saturn Ion, Bustos said. Both motorists were alone in their vehicles, he said.

The Saturn was stopped on Ventura Boulevard behind several other stopped vehicles near the on-ramp to the southbound Ventura (101) Freeway. The collision triggered a chain-reaction crash that involved a total of seven vehicles.

"It appears that speed was a factor in this collision," Bustos said.

The Taurus driver, whose name was withheld, was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Three other people suffered minor injuries.

Witnesses told police that after the crash, the Taurus driver went into a nearby store, bought some alcohol, and drank some of it, Bustos said.

Police did not arrest the man. The results of the investigation will be presented to the District Attorney's Office for possible filing of charges if police believe that a criminal case is justified.