CHP ASKING FOR WITNESSES TWO ELDERLY BROTHERS KILLED IN CRASH.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Family members and California Highway Patrol investigators issued a plea Friday for witnesses to a rainy day crash this week that killed two men - elderly brothers who looked forward to spending Easter together.

CHP investigators have interviewed some witnesses to Monday's deadly crash in Valencia but want more information.

``We believe at least two to three witnesses saw the collision,'' said CHP investigator Dave Pokorny. ``We would appreciate it if they would come forward.''

Brothers Ralph Van Blair, 79, of San Fernando, and Lawrence Van Blair, 83, of Quincy, Ill., died when their pickup truck crashed head-on into an oncoming van that had spun out of control on the Golden State Freeway at Rye Canyon Road.

The two men had been visiting Ralph Van Blair's son in Frazier Park. They had planned to spend Easter Sunday together for the first time in 42 years, a family member said.

It would help to know what happened, the brothers' survivors said.

Van Blair's son had cautioned him to drive carefully in the pouring rain as the pair headed back to San Fernando.

About 2:35 p.m. Monday, Gregario Mandujano, 50, of Pacoima was driving home from work when he lost control of his gray Ford van on the circular on-ramp at Rye Canyon.

The Van Blairs were killed on impact. They died of multiple blunt force injuries, said Scott Carrier, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Mandujano's van continued to roll into the fast lane, where a 1999 Infiniti driven by David Rice, 30, of Woodland Hills hit it on the side, authorities said.

The brothers had been visiting with different relatives while Lawrence Van Blair was in town.

Ralph Van Blair had lost his wife to an illness a few years ago. His son remembered his father saying that when it was his time to go, he wanted to go quickly, officers said.

Lawrence Van Blair had lost his wife three months ago.

Their mutual losses had made the brother's reunion all the more comforting for one another.

``It was sweet how they were caring for each other,'' said a relative, who asked not to be identified. ``It was kind of a blessing they both went together because if one had lived and the other died, they wouldn't be able to handle it.''

Ralph Van Blair was born in Quincy. In 1942, he married Betty Lee Forrest and then served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

After the war, he moved to Van Nuys and worked as a machinist at Weber Aircraft in Burbank.

He later moved his wife and four children - Karen Delgado, Rick Van Blair, Vicky Dewey and Gregory Van Blair - to Granada Hills. He spent most of his retirement fixing things and enjoying his eight grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be sent to the American Cancer Society in the names of Ralph and Betty Van Blair.

Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact Dave Pokorny at [phone].