CRASH KILLS SCOUT, CHURCH LEADER; NEWHALL MAN DIES AFTER TIRE BLOWS OUT, VEHICLE ROLLS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Funeral arrangements were pending Monday for a local Boy Scout leader and elder in the Mormon church who died in a weekend traffic accident in Utah.

Jesse Jose Duran, 44, of Newhall was driving south on Interstate 15 on Sunday when a rear tire on his sport-utility vehicle blew out and he lost control of the car. The 1993 Ford Explorer skidded off the right side of the road and rolled twice. Duran was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown about 50 feet, according to Trooper Shawn Hinton of the Utah Highway Patrol.

Duran died at the scene of the 4:15 p.m. crash near the town of Leeds, about midway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. His passengers - his wife, Teresa, 40, and nephew Charles Basulto, 15, of Pacoima - were wearing seat belts and survived, Hinton said.

One of Teresa Duran's shoulders was fractured, and Basulto suffered abdominal and arm injuries, the trooper said.

Jesse Jose Duran managed a Van Nuys store that sells clothing, gear and equipment for the Boy Scouts of America. He was an elder in the Newhall ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a scoutmaster for a Boy Scout troop affiliated with the ward.

He also served as a unit commissioner, overseeing several troops sponsored by the church. He was active in Scouting programs throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.

``He was a tremendous individual in working with young men,'' said Ladd Jones, a fellow church member who served as a scoutmaster with Duran.

The fatal accident occurred after Duran, his wife and nephew attended a family wedding in Ogden, Utah, and started home, said his brother-in-law Bill Steele.

Duran, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and lived in the Santa Clarita Valley for several years, is survived by his wife and their two sons, Victor, 21, of Orem, Utah, and Elias, 18, of Mesa, Ariz., Steele said.

Duran also is survived by his mother, Jessie of San Fernando; brothers, Samuel of Santa Clarita, Elias of North Hills and David of Rancho Cucamonga; sisters, Anna Steele of Tehachapi and Hope Duran of San Fernando; and 19 nieces and nephews.