5 HURT IN JAIL VAN CRASH.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A jail van transporting inmates from a maximum-security lockup in Castaic to the Twin Towers Detention Center downtown collided with a truck early Monday in Valencia, sending two sheriff's deputies, two inmates and a truck driver to the hospital.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy Joshua May, 23, lost control of the 1997 Ford Econoline van at the Rye Canyon Road on-ramp to the southbound Golden State Freeway, said Officer Tom Mann of the California Highway Patrol. The van spun out into traffic lanes and was facing the wrong way when it was hit head-on by a tractor-trailer driven by Gerald Zuniga, 57, of Visalia.

The van was forced into the guardrail, and Zuniga's truck ran off the freeway into the parking lot of Tommie's restaurant, spilling several gallons of oil and diesel fuel in the lot.

May; passenger inmate Alfredo Villela, who is being held on a misdemeanor assault charge; and Zuniga were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital with minor to moderate injuries. Deputy Robert Garcia, 22, who was a passenger in the van, and inmate Jose Alcarez, in custody on felony assault charges, were transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills; Garcia's injuries were reported to be moderate, Alcarez's minor.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com