BABY FIGHTS FOR LIFE AFTER AUTO CRASH; MOTHER WHO DROVE WITHOUT LICENSE, 2 OTHERS DIE WHEN RENTAL CAR HITS TREE.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen and Jesse Hiestand

Six-month-old Kiel Parker clung to life Friday in a coma after his mother was killed with two others in a single-car crash in Sun Valley a day earlier, officials said.

Kiel was the lone survivor in the horrific crash at Glenoaks Boulevard, just south of Roscoe Boulevard in Sun Valley about 8:25 p.m. Thursday. He was placed on life support at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles as three teams of doctors worked on him in the pediatric intensive-care unit.

Neighbors and a passing motorist rescued Kiel from the rear of the demolished Enterprise rental car, a 1998 Ford Contour. The baby was still in his child safety seat.

The baby's mother, Shannon Parker, 19, of Tujunga, lost control of the car and plowed into a tree in the center divider of Glenoaks Boulevard, investigators said.

Excessive speed and possibly inattention were factors in the crash, said Detective Jaime Weaver of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

Parker, who was driving the car without a license; Leland Lupton, 18, of Tujunga; and Michael Robert Ortolano, 20, of Sunland were all dead at the scene of the crash, traffic officials said.

Rick and Rose Chadwick of Tujunga, who knew Ortolano for seven years, were hard-hit by his death.

``He was a big-hearted kid who would help you with other kids. He practically raised his younger brother, Gene,'' said Rick Chadwick, who routinely had Ortolano watch over his own children, ages 2, 4 and 7. ``If you needed him to watch your kids, you could trust him.''

Ortolano lived with the Chadwicks for about a month in between living in boys' homes as a foster child, Rose Chadwick said.

A fourth adult, who was not in the vehicle during the crash, had rented the car in La Crescenta, Weaver said.

On Friday, doctors, including neurosurgeons and general surgeons, were treating the boy, said attending physician Dr. Niurka Rivero of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in Hollywood.

They were using medication to keep brain swelling down, the primary concern at this point, Rivero said.

``He's in extremely critical condition, and we don't really have an idea how he's going to do at this time,'' Rivero said.

The boy's father was standing by his side, along with one of his grandmothers, said Steve Rutledge, a hospital spokesman. The father was being counseled by hospital social workers.

The three others were not wearing seat belts, Weaver said. Alcohol did not appear to be a factor, but the coroner's office will perform toxicology tests.

Officer James Hutchens of Valley Traffic said Parker has never held a driver's license and was driving more than 50 mph in a 40 mph posted zone when her car veered off the road into the center divider and collided head-on with the tree.

Daily News Staff Writer Melissa Schmitt contributed to this story.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Map

PHOTO (1) Nathan Hemminger, left, Chris Hutchinson, Rafael Jorge and Bill Hutchinson were first on the scene at Thursday's crash.

(2) LAPD officers check the wreckage of a Ford Contour for identification of the victims Thursday.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

MAP: Sun Valley