BRIEFLY WORKER KILLED IN GOLF CART CRASH.

MISSION VIEJO - A golf course landscaping worker was killed after he lost control of a golf cart he was driving and it rolled over on top of him, authorities said.

The 37-year-old Garden Grove man, whose name was not released pending family notification, was crushed by the cart at the Arroyo Trabuco golf course at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, said police Lt. Phil Johnson.

The man lost control of the vehicle, which pulled a small trailer, when he made a turn while heading downhill at the under-construction golf course, Johnson said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

- Daily News

Cars buried under wood and metal

The wind blew about eight stories of scaffolding away from a building under construction near the Staples Center on Thursday, and several cars were buried in a tangle of wood and metal, a fire official said.

The collapse near Olympic Boulevard and Hope Street was reported about 4:30 p.m., said Bob Collis of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The scaffolding is a few blocks from the Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Houston Rockets in a Christmas Day matchup.

No one was injured in the collapse, which apparently was caused by a gust of wind, Collis said.

- City News Service

Runaway truck slams into house

SHERMAN OAKS - A 42-year-old North Hollywood man was seriously injured Thursday night when the tow truck he was driving suddenly rolled down a hill and hit a house.

Los Angeles Police Department Officer Dan Henry of the Valley Traffic Division said Luis Alvarado was in the 3300 block of Coy Drive in Sherman Oaks at about 12:45 p.m. Thursday. Alvarado was about to hitch a car to his tow truck when, according to a witness at the scene, the tow truck suddenly began rolling down the hill, a steep 15-percent grade.

The truck then struck a house, causing an undetermined amount of structural damage. Alvarado suffered major facial fractures and was taken to UCLA Medical Center, Henry said.

- Daily News