1 DEAD, 1 INJURED IN CRASH ON 118.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

One man was killed and a second man badly injured Saturday when the Mazda in which they were traveling collided with and became pinned under an eastbound truck that had jack-knifed. The crash occurred about 3:30 p.m. on the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Granada Hills, authorities said.

The Mazda's driver was transported to Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, where he was listed in critical condition with severe head trauma and internal injuries, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis. The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. The California Highway Patrol was investigating the incident.

The fatal crash was among several serious traffic collisions on the region's roadways since Thursday.

Those collisions included a fiery crash Friday night that killed five young people along Highway 395 in Adelanto.

In the Adelanto crash, a 1988 Chevrolet pickup headed south on Highway 395 drifted across the center divider and hit an approaching semitruck head on, said Steven Foster of the San Bernardino County Coroner's Department.

Four males and a female, from 17 to 20 years old, perished in the flames that erupted in the 7 p.m. collision, Foster said. The driver of the truck was not injured.

Two of the crash victims were brothers. Four were from Adelanto and one from Victorville.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department investigated the crash.

In Van Nuys on Saturday, two men were injured - one critically - in a crash at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Chandler Boulevard.

Police reported that a white Mercedes ran a red light and collided with a delivery truck about 12:30 p.m.

The delivery truck driver was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in critical condition. A man in the Mercedes was transported to Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center with minor injuries. The Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division was investigating the case.

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(1 -- 2) A passenger in a Mazda was killed and the driver critically injured Saturday when their car collided with a jack-knifed truck on the 118 Freeway.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News