2 KILLED, 2 HURT IN 4-CAR CRASH ON HIGHWAY 126.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

A two-lane highway infamous for traffic collisions claimed two more lives early Saturday following a four-car crash that left two others injured, Highway Patrol officials said.

Frank Robert Salcido, 32, of Simi Valley and Sergio Zamora, 19, of Ventura were killed shortly after 6:55 a.m. Saturday along State Highway 126 about a mile and a half west of the Ventura County line, officials said.

The state highway between Santa Clarita and Fillmore was closed from Piru to Interstate 5 for more than seven hours during the day as CHP officials cleared the roadway and investigated the crash site.

``We don't know who was at fault yet,'' said Lisa Paulson, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher. ``We're investigating.''

According to Paulson, Salcido was driving a 1993 Ford Explorer west along Highway 126 when he veered into the eastbound lane and hit Zamora head-on, killing him.

George Gamboa, 43, of Ventura was driving a 1990 Chevy with two passengers behind Zamora when he saw the problem and steered to the right, but was unable to avoid hitting Zamora, officials said.

``Gamboa hit Zamora as Zamora was being pushed backed by the initial collision,'' said Paulson. ``Gamboa's vehicle rolled down the embankment and landed upside down.''

The driver of a third vehicle traveling east also saw the impending collision and steered to the right, but his vehicle was also hit by Salcido, officials said.

Gamboa suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Newhall. His two passengers were a 27-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., who suffered moderate injuries and a 32-year-old Santa Paula resident who suffered no injuries. The driver of the third vehicle escaped serious injury.

For years, residents and local officials have urged road improvements and increased law enforcement along the two-lane highway, hoping to avoid such deadly crashes.

It was only two days ago that two state senators from Ventura County voiced their concerns as they addressed transportation officials.

Sen. Jack O'Connell, D-Santa Barbara, told the Ventura County Transportation Commission he will lobby for safety measures that have been successful on other rural highways.

Among his requests were pavement markers in the medium, airplane and helicopter patrols, unmarked patrol cars and decoy units to discourage speeding. Caltrans crews should also install rumble strips to discourage people from crossing into opposing traffic, O'Connell said.

Sen. Cathie Wright, R-Simi Valley, pledged to lead a campaign to encourage safe driving along the roadway.

The effort to improve the local route between Santa Clarita and Fillmore comes after a series of crashes that has left nine people dead in the past month, including two young sisters on their way to visit their grandmother.

Many of the crashes have been along a five-mile stretch where Caltrans is working on a $11.4 million project to widen the highway from two to four lanes.

Year-end statistics released by the California Highway Patrol this year show that while crashes are up all along Highway 126, the number of fatalities is on par with past years.

There were 220 collisions on the Ventura side of the highway in 1996, up from 192 in 1995. Six people died on that stretch of highway last year, the same as 1995, but down from eight deaths in 1994.

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Photo: CHP officers closed a section of Highway 126 from Piru to Interstate 5 on Saturday to investigate an early morning crash.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News