BRIEFLY.

20-year-old driver dies in car crash

VENTURA - A 20-year-old motorist died early Sunday when he veered off the road and ran into a light pole and then struck a tree, according to coroner's officials.

Juan Pablo Lopez Gildo, of Oxnard was driving his 1996 Plymouth Neon north on the Ventura Freeway north of Seaward Avenue around 12:15 a.m. when he smashed into the roadside obstacles, officials said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators said Gildo was driving at ``normal freeway speeds'' and was wearing his seat belt.

- Daily News

Boy hospitalized in truck shooting

PACOIMA - A 17-year-old Pacoima boy remained hospitalized Sunday after he was wounded the night before by a shotgun blast that came from a black, extended-cab pickup, police said.

The shooting, possibly gang-related, occurred about 7 p.m. Saturday at Filmore Street and Pala Avenue, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Dan Bunch of the Foothill station.

The victim, whose name police withheld, was taken to a nearby hospital and reported to have stable vital signs, Bunch said. The boy was hit in an arm and shoulder, he said.

Five people were believed to have been in the truck, Bunch said.

- City News Service

Car kills motorist stalled on freeway

INDUSTRY - A motorist was killed early Sunday after his stalled vehicle was hit by another motorist on the San Gabriel River Freeway in Industry, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash on southbound freeway lanes at Valley Boulevard was reported at 5:21 a.m., CHP Officer John Seumanutafa said. A 65-year-old La Puente man was driving south when he hit a parked vehicle on the right shoulder - just as the man was exiting the stalled vehicle.

- City News Service

Boy hospitalized after dog attack

STEVENSON RANCH - An 11-year-old boy was airlifted to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and listed in fair condition Sunday after being mauled by the family's 150-pound Great Dane, authorities said.

A Los Angeles County animal control spokeswoman told KCAL (Channel 9) that the boy was roughhousing with the large canine in the foyer of the home when the dog bit him in the face, scraping his skin.

``He was growling, kind of wrestling with the dog, and unfortunately he got bit,'' said Los Angeles County Animal Control Officer Lisa Eldridge.

While authorities first believed the attack may have hurt the boy's eyes, he was not expected to lose his eyesight, KCAL reported.

The 7-year-old dog had never bitten anyone before, authorities said.

Betty Parker, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said the boy was taken from a home in the 25000 block of Hidden Oak Court.

The dog was being held by animal control officials.

- Daily News

LAUSD cops ready for boycott today

School police will be deployed at Los Angeles Unified campuses today to ensure safety if students decide to boycott classes again on Cesar Chavez Day, an LAUSD police lieutenant said.

Chavez Day is an official state holiday to honor the founder of the United Farm Workers union. Los Angeles Unified schools will be open, but extra school police will be at some campuses because of the possibility of another walkout by students protesting a pending immigration reform bill in Congress, said Lt. Hector Rodriguez of the LAUSD school police.

On Friday, several thousand students at some Los Angeles schools staged a walkout to protest the bill, and a message urging another walkout today was posted on MySpace.com, a popular Internet site for young people, Rodriguez said.

- City News Service