DEATH TOLL AT 8 ON AREA ROADS HOLIDAY WEEKEND TRAGIC FOR SOME TRAVELERS.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

At least eight people have died on Los Angeles-area highways so far this holiday weekend, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Five of the fatalities were handled by the CHP. The others were reported by Los Angeles city authorities.

CHP Officer Tariq Johnson said one man was killed when his convertible flipped over at 2:19 p.m. Monday on the southbound 101 Freeway connection to eastbound lanes of the 10 freeway. The man, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and killed, Johnson said.

At 4:03 p.m. Monday, another man was killed when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle that was making a legal U-turn on Bouquet Canyon Road, just north of Vasquez, Johnson said. The motorcycle rider, who appeared to be about 25 years old, had been traveling at nearly 90 mph, according to witnesses.

A man in his 30s died Saturday night when the mid-size sedan he was driving on the Pasadena Freeway went off the road and struck a light pole, which fell onto the driver's side of the car and pinned the man inside, CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos said.

The crash occurred on the northbound side of the freeway just north of Avenue 26 about 9:20 p.m., said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The man, who was the only person in the car, had to be removed with the aid of hydraulic tools, Humphrey said.

His name was withheld pending notification of his family.

Saturday morning, a 64-year-old woman who wasn't wearing a seat belt was killed, and four others, including two children, were injured in a crash on the northbound Golden State Freeway, north of McBean Parkway, in Santa Clarita, said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Ed Osorio.

A mother from Hawthorne was driving her two children and parents to visit relatives in Bakersfield when a tire blew, causing the van to go out of control, KTTV (Channel 11) reported.

``The driver experienced a left rear-wheel blowout,'' a CHP officer told the television station. ``The driver subsequently lost control of the vehicle, and it came onto the shoulder and overturned a couple times.''

The grandmother, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was thrown out and killed.

The children - a boy, 3, and a girl, 7 - were taken to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in critical condition.

``It's just a miracle that they survived,'' a hospital official told Channel 11. ``They are awake. The little girl is in pain. The little one, the boy, he is doing really well.''

The 39-year-old mother was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital with moderate injuries, according to Channel 11.

The grandfather, who was wearing his seat belt, suffered only minor injuries and was at Childrens Hospital to check on the welfare of the children, Channel 11 reported.

Four other fatal crashes occurred between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday, according to the CHP.

Statewide there have been 28 fatalities on the freeways.

In addition, there have been 1,369 drunk-driving arrests statewide, including 284 in Los Angeles County.