Legal news for California automobile accident attorneys. A fatal two-vehicle crash ejected five people from a Ford van.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash between a Ford van and a Mitsubishi Lancer on the 605 Freeway.

Cerritos, CA—A fatal crash on the San Gabriel (605) Freeway claimed the lives of two men who were involved in a two-vehicle rollover crash on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. The collision occurred in the northbound lanes of the 605 Freeway around 6:53 p.m., just south of Artesia, as reported by the PressTelegram.com.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported that a northbound Ford van was traveling in the No. 2 lane, when the van tried to merge into the carpool lane and almost collided with a Mitsubishi Lancer, which was traveling in northbound in the No. 1 lane. Subsequently both vehicles swerved to avoid colliding with one another, which caused the van to hit the center divider of the freeway, and sent it rolling onto its right side. The collision ejected five passengers of the van as a result. The violent rollover crash killed two of the van’s passengers, which included one victim who was struck by the car when the passenger was ejected. Officials have identified one of the fatally injured victims as Michael Harris, 67, of San Carlos; but have withheld the other victim’s identity pending family notification. Five others also sustained serious injuries and were rushed by emergency medical services (EMS) teams to an area hospital for treatment of their critical injuries. The driver of the Mitsubishi was injured as well after his car also struck the center divider and overturned. The driver was also taken to an area hospital for a medical evaluation and is expected to survive. A full fatal motor vehicle collision (MVC) investigation is currently underway by authorities.

Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for California automobile accident lawyers.