EIGHT DIE ON VALLEY STREETS IN MARCH.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

Eight traffic fatalities were recorded last month on the streets of the San Fernando Valley, capped on Easter Sunday with the death of a 63-year- old motorist and his dog.

The number of crashes confounds police, who had celebrated - if only briefly - the fact that the Valley recorded zero traffic deaths in February.

``We've had a particularly bad March,'' said Capt. Greg Meyer, who heads the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division. ``Hopefully we'll have a better April.''

A dozen people have died on Valley streets so far this year - including four pedestrians - compared with 20 during the first three months of 2001. And the number of people who died last month was twice the number killed in March 2001.

Overall, police have seen a 30 percent decrease in traffic crashes with serious injuries - a drop they attribute to stepped-up enforcement, a public education campaign targeting jaywalkers and Deputy Chief Ron Bergmann, the Valley's top cop, who has made traffic safety a priority.

Police also have stepped up motorcycle patrol efforts at some of the most dangerous Valley intersections, setting up stings and issuing citations to hundreds of drivers who don't stop for pedestrians in a single day.

Also police have been targeting jaywalkers who are blamed in about half of all pedestrian-related crashes.

``We don't want to see any fatalities,'' said LAPD Sgt. Dale Turner, who heads the Valley's motorcycle squad. ``Accidents are going to occur, but if motorists slow down and remember to wear seat belts, perhaps where we would've lost a life, it would be an injury.''

There's only so much police can do to help prevent crashes - as was evident Sunday when police said an 18-year-old man stole an SUV, ran a red light and killed an unsuspecting motorist.

The crash occurred about 12:20 p.m. at Sherman Way and White Oak Avenue, only minutes after Miguel Armando Chavez stole a Mitsubishi SUV from a driveway near Yolanda Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard, then sped off, police said.

Chavez was eastbound on Sherman Way when, police said, he ran a red light and hit a southbound pickup truck driven by Glenn C. Peters of Northridge. Peters was pronounced dead at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

Police said they believe Peters was taking his black Labrador retriever to the dog park on Victory Boulevard and White Oak Avenue at the time of the crash. Chavez was being held without bail Monday on suspicion of murder.