2 YOUNG SISTERS KILLED IN LATEST COLLISION ON DEADLY HIGHWAY 126.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

Two young sisters were killed in a head-on collision along state Highway 126 on Thursday morning, marking the second deadly crash on the hazardous highway in just four days, authorities said.

The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office identified the two who were killed as Andrea and Katie Tello, ages 8 and 11, of Ventura.

The fatal collision was disturbing for many of the responding officers and fire officials because it involved children at Christmastime, said Officer Steven Reid of the California Highway Patrol's Ventura office.

``That's the same age as my kids,'' said Reid, who has an 11-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter. ``You would think being a big tough police officer, we ought to be able to deal with it. But you can't. You never can.''

The two were riding with their mother in a mini-van, which was hit head-on about 7 a.m. when another vehicle, driven by Juan Ramirez, 30, of Port Hueneme, inexplicably crossed over the center divider, authorities said.

Ramirez was driving a Subaru with his wife, Norma Fuentes, 20, in the passenger seat and their 10-month-old son, Jesus, in a child safety seat. They were westbound on a four-lane stretch of Highway 126, about one mile east of Santa Paula. Ramirez might have fallen asleep, officials said, noting that he was not under the influence of alcohol.

The children in the mini-van were pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said.

The girls' mother, Diane Tello, 37, who was driving, was hospitalized with major injuries, the CHP said.

The three in the Subaru were also hospitalized. Fuentes was in critical but stable condition with mostly internal injuries Thursday afternoon, said CHP Officer Dave Cockrill.

Ramirez suffered moderate injuries, mostly to his face. The infant was treated at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and released.

Fuentes and Tello had to be extricated from their vehicles, fire officials said.

A special briefing was held Thursday with department counselors helping officers deal with the accident, Reid said.

``Stuff like this doesn't hit until later on. It builds up. You don't realize how much stress you're under,'' Reid said. ``I would venture to guess that most of the guys out there working have kids.''

The highway was closed between Fillmore and Santa Paula for about six hours. Traffic from the Santa Clarita area was rerouted through Moorpark.

On Monday, two men were killed in a head-on collision just east of Piru on Highway 126, about 25 miles away from Thursday's accident. Authorities said Mark Dees, 63, lost control of his Pontiac Fiero, which swerved head-on into a Ford Explorer about one mile east of Piru.

The impact killed Dees, of Moorpark, and Phillip Bertelsen, 58, who was in the Explorer's back seat. Police said they found a pint bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey with the seal broken and a loaded .22-caliber handgun in Dees' car. Authorities still were investigating the incident Thursday.

And on Dec. 9, three Fillmore men who were migrant field workers were killed in a head-on crash just east of the Ventura-Los Angeles county line. Their car hit some water in the road, spun out of control and into the path of a semi traveling west. The truck driver was not injured.

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Photo: Officers investigate a collision on state Highway 126 in which two young Ventura girls were killed.

Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News