Passenger Dies, 3 Hurt in Crash Near Palmdale

A 26-year-old man was killed and three people suffered serious injuries Monday morning in a two-car crash that occurred as a driver tried to pass a slower vehicle on a remote highway near Palmdale, the California Highway Patrol said.

Officer Charles Gilliland said the CHP will seek vehicular manslaughter and drunk-driving charges against the driver who attempted to pass. His name was withheld, as was the name of his passenger, who was killed in the accident.

The crash occurred at 8:40 a.m. on California 138, just east of 233rd St. East, about 25 miles southeast of Palmdale, Gilliland said.

He said the car that tried to pass, a 1990 Dodge Shadow, was going west at about 80 m.p.h. when the driver pulled into the oncoming lane to pass another vehicle. The driver saw a 1985 Cadillac approaching and tried to move back into his own lane, but lost control and skidded onto a shoulder, Gilliland said. At the same time, he said, the Cadillac swerved onto the shoulder to avoid the Dodge and the two collided.

The driver of the Cadillac, Peter Carlomagno of Escondido, was flown by helicopter to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena with major injuries, Gilliland said. His condition was not available Monday.

Carlomagno’s mother, Beryl Ford, 62, of Palmdale, was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center with broken ribs and internal injuries, he said. She was in fair condition Monday night, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The other driver was also flown to Huntington Memorial, where he underwent emergency surgery, Gilliland said.