SURVIVAL CALLED AMAZING COPTER PLUCKS 2 FROM FREEWAY AFTER COLLISION.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Drivers of two vehicles were critically injured and three teenage girls in a third auto escaped with minor injuries when the three cars collided Wednesday morning on the Antelope Valley Freeway.

Southbound commuter traffic backed up for miles while firefighters worked more than 45 minutes to free the driver of a GMC Jimmy sport utility vehicle that ended up wedged against a concrete traffic barrier and on top of the girls' Toyota sedan.

Authorities said of a Honda Accord - Davis Urenacorado, 28, of Palmdale - apparently lost control of the car and caused the crash. The Honda was torn in half and the driver partially thrown out.

Paulette Solomon, 34, of Lancaster, the SUV's driver, and Urenacorado were flown out by helicopter to hospitals - she to UCLA Medical Center and he to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. Fire Inspector Jason Hurd said both were critically injured.

The Toyota's three occupants went to local hospitals, firefighters said. The driver was a 17-year-old from Lancaster and her passengers were 16-year-olds from Lancaster and Palmdale. Their car held together well and their injuries appeared minor, according to California Highway Patrol officials, who did not release their names because the girls are minors. Observers called it remarkable that all people in the crash survived.

``It's pretty miraculous, if you look at it,'' CHP Sgt. Tom Lackey said.

Nearly 20 Los Angeles County firefighters, including an urban search and rescue team from Lancaster, freed Solomon by cutting open the SUV's wreckage and carrying her out to a helicopter that landed on the closed freeway.

Urenacorado's Honda was cut in half from hitting a concrete barrier in place for a freeway-widening project. The Honda's rear seat and back axle were torn off from the front half of the car.

Urenacorado's Honda was traveling south at 55 to 65 mph around 7:30 a.m. when it went out of control for no apparent reason, CHP officers said.

Near Vista Point, south of Avenue S, the out-of-control Honda swerved left and into the girls' Toyota, which was in the middle lane, CHP officers said.

The impact forced the Toyota into the fast lane, where it collided with the SUV. All three vehicles then hit the concrete barriers in the center of the freeway, CHP officers said.

Vehicle debris that flew over the median hit a northbound van, cracking its windshield. The van driver, an Agua Dulce woman, was not hurt.

Southbound traffic backed up more than four miles on the freeway because of the crash. Motorists trying to avoid the traffic jam also clogged Sierra Highway and Pearblossom Highway south of Palmdale.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in AV edition only) Firefighters work to free the critically injured driver of an SUV wedged against a concrete barrier in a crash Wednesday.

(2 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) A worker checks the rear axle and seat of a Honda Accord torn apart in a crash.

(3 -- 4 -- color; 3 -- ran in AV edition only; 4 -- color in AV edition only) Firefighters prepare a critically injured driver they rescued from a crushed sport utility vehicle for a helicopter ride to a hospital after a three-car collision Wednesday morning on the Antelope Valley Freeway. Authorities said the driver of another car - a Honda torn apart in the collision - apparently caused the crash. Southbound traffic backed up more than four miles on the freeway. Motorists trying to avoid the traffic jam also clogged Sierra Highway and Pearblossom Highway south of Palmdale.

Charles Bostwick/Daily News