TRAFFIC UP, BUT MOST ROADS SAFE.

Byline: - Joseph Giordono

Traffic volume was higher than expected for the Fourth of July holiday, but Southern California freeways were mostly free of serious incidents, California Highway Patrol officials said Wednesday.

Two people were killed in collisions on area streets.

Even though the holiday fell in the middle of the week, the number of freeway travelers was at weekend holiday levels, CHP officials said.

``It has been mostly quiet, but there is more traffic than we anticipated,'' said CHP Officer Karen Faciane.

``There are just as many people as if it were a three-day weekend, but it is spread out for a week instead of a weekend.''

No fatalities were reported on Los Angeles County freeways during the first 12 hours of the Independence Day holiday, according to the CHP.

Last year, one death occurred in Los Angeles County during the same period, and two occurred statewide, officials said.

CHP officers in Los Angeles arrested 43 people on suspicion of drunk driving between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, down from 80 arrests during first 12 hours of the holiday last year.

Statewide, the CHP made 225 drunk driving arrests, down from 330 during same period last year.

In Piru, the Ventura County Highway Patrol reported an incident involving a motor home and a minivan that sent seven people to different local hospitals, one in critical condition.

The crash occurred at 2:46 p.m. at the intersection of Main Street and Telegraph Road, a CHP spokeswoman said.

One man was killed Wednesday in a crash at Sepulveda Boulevard and Roxford Street, Los Angeles Police Department West Valley traffic officials said.

The 49-year-old victim, whose name was not immediately released, tried to drive his car between two vehicles waiting at the intersection and hit both of them, police said.

The man, who might have been having some type of attack or seizure when he attempted the maneuver, died at the scene, police said. There were no reported injuries to those in the other cars.