3 DIE AS CAR TOP IS SHEARED OFF BY TRUCK.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

ENCINO - Three people died and another was critically injured after a Nissan Altima slammed into the rear of a big-rig produce truck on the Ventura Freeway in Encino on Saturday, officials said.

``It took the top of the Nissan right off,'' said Capt. Sparkie Halloway of the Los Angeles City Fire Department. ``The people inside probably didn't even know what happened.''

The California Highway Patrol reported that a 23-year-old Canoga Park man driving the white Altima was headed east at a speed exceeding 65 mph.

It was lightly raining and the roadway was wet at the time, about 1:50 a.m., east of White Oak Avenue.

``When the Nissan driver finally observed the slowing/stopping traffic, he aggressively applied the brakes, but was unable to stop before the front of the Nissan struck the rear of the towed semitrailer,'' the CHP said in a written statement on the crash.

Officers identified those who died at the scene as the 23-year-old driver, and two people who were in the back seat - a 17-year-old girl from Van Nuys and a 26-year-old man from Reseda. Their names were not released pending notification of relatives.

A 21-year-old woman who was the passenger in the right front seat was transported to Northridge Medical Center by the Los Angeles City Fire Department paramedics, the Highway Patrol reported.

That woman, identified as Mireya Tejeda of Sylmar, was critical condition Saturday, officials said.

According to the CHP, initial indications were that the two rear seat passengers were not wearing seat belts, although the driver and Tejeda were wearing seat belts.

``There were some potential controlled substances ('street drugs') found inside the Nissan following the collision,'' the Highway Patrol statement said.

The driver of the 1997 Peterbilt truck-tractor was identified as Floyd Walker Jr., 38, of Greenville, S.C.

Another person died Friday night in the Santa Clarita Valley when a car rolled over several times and landed in an embankment, authorities said.

That fatal crash occurred about 10:45 p.m. on the southbound side of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway at Placerita Canyon Road, said CHP Officer Bruce Gaines.

The car, which appeared to be a Honda Civic, rolled over several times but didn't hit any other vehicles, Gaines said. One person, who appeared to have crawled out of the wrecked car, was dead at the scene, Gaines said.

Paramedics took another person in the car to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, officials said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Wreckage of a Nissan Altima in which three people died is inspected Saturday after a crash on the Ventura Freeway.

(2) A 21-year-old passenger, identified as Mireya Tejeda of Sylmar, is taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News