BRIEFLY CAR REPOSSESOR MENDS IN HOSPITAL.

PALMDALE - A tow truck driver stabbed in the neck while he tried to repossess a vehicle is expected to recover, deputies said Saturday.

Harold King, 37, of Lancaster is recovering movement in his lower extremities, lessening fear he would be paralyzed from his injuries, deputies said. King is hospitalized in Los Angeles.

Steven Michael Torres, 25, of Palmdale was arrested Friday when he returned to the apartment complex where the stabbing occurred Thursday afternoon. Girlfriend Jeanine Peters, 22, was arrested Thursday. Both are being held on suspicion of attempted murder, deputies said.

- Daily News

Freeway closure in Antelope Valley

ACTON - Northbound Antelope Valley Freeway will be closed from 11 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday between Escondido Canyon Road and Red Rover Mine Road, Caltrans said.

Motorists will be detoured off the freeway at Escondido Canyon Road and rerouted back on 2 1/2 miles later at Ward Road, the Red Rover Mine Road on-ramp. Caltrans officials said they expect the delay to be minimal.

The northbound lanes will be closed to permit work crews to paint new lane stripes, part of the $25 million project to add carpool lanes between Escondido Canyon Road and Pearblossom Highway.

- Daily News

Teen, 18, injured in freeway crash

PALMDALE - A Palmdale teen-ager was seriously injured Friday night on the Antelope Valley Freeway when a minivan in which she was riding was hit by a car that tried to pass it using the median, officials said.

Michelle Sirex, 18, was thrown from the Dodge Caravan over a chain-link fence and into a field near the California Aqueduct, the California Highway Patrol said. She was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills with major injuries.

Jeffrey Kempton, 33, of Lancaster, who was driving the Saturn that hit the minivan, was also taken to Holy Cross with major injuries.

Witnesses told the CHP the Saturn had been traveling north at 90 to 100 mph, using the median to pass other vehicles. As the Saturn reached the aqueduct overpass, it hit a metal guard rail and sideswiped the minivan, which was also traveling north, in the fast lane, the CHP said.

The minivan careened into the guardrail on the freeway's right side, ejecting Sirex. The Saturn overturned several times, the CHP said.

CHP officers are investigating whether Kempton had been traveling under the influence of alcohol.

- Daily News