Two people were killed early Friday morning when a car veered off the road and struck a tree near Balboa and Burbank boulevards in Encino. Residents say the stretch of road has seen at least 16 crashes in the same spot.
ENCINO, Los Angeles, California (Oct. 2) -- Two people were killed when a white Honda Civic veered off the road and struck a tree in Encino early Friday morning, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
The crash occurred at approximately 2:02 a.m. on Friday, October 2, along Burbank Boulevard near Balboa Boulevard, a LAPD spokesperson confirmed. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, according to Jennifer Middleton of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The victims were identified by the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office as Johana Portillo Membreno, 35, and Jonathan Garcia Murillo, 25. Neither victim's city of residence was disclosed. Garcia Murillo was identified as the driver.
Video from the scene showed the vehicle nearly split in two, with both sides of the car on either side of the tree. Witness Victor Cruz told a videographer at the scene that he saw the vehicle drive around a curve at approximately 60 miles per hour before veering off the road and colliding with the tree. Cruz said he attempted to help the occupants and observed that the collision had caused the engine to shift onto the passenger seat.
The speed limit on that stretch of Burbank Boulevard is 35 miles per hour.
Another witness, who was driving at the time, described the moments before the crash. "They were going too quick, about two cars ahead," the witness said. "I slowed down at the turn and I know that turn, but they kept going fast. I saw the whole car jump and spark and I just kept telling myself, 'please don't hit a tree, please don't hit a tree,' but that's the very thing that happened sadly."
The westbound lanes of Burbank Boulevard were closed during the investigation.
Residents who live near the crash site say the stretch of road is notorious for speeding and deadly crashes. Frankie Andrew, a resident, said the crashes are frequent enough to wake neighbors in the middle of the night.
"When I'm asleep, I'll hear it when I'm in my kitchen or my bathroom. It sounds like an airplane is crashing in our backyard," Andrew said. "And then we walk out here and we'll see people dead in their cars, upside down, bleeding out, you name it."
Andrew estimates he has seen at least 16 crashes in the exact same spot, many of which ended in fatalities or near-fatalities.
The crash has renewed calls from local residents for safety improvements along the corridor, including speed enforcement measures and possibly roadway redesign to slow traffic around the curve.
The LAPD investigation into what caused the driver to lose control was ongoing as of Sunday.
This article was generated with AI assistance.