Local News in Brief : 3 Crashes in an Hour Hurt 5 at Same Spot

Three accidents in about an hour on the same stretch of Simi Valley road Saturday damaged six cars and injured five people, including three suspected of drunk driving, police said.

The accidents, all involving Simi Valley residents, occurred on Erringer Road near Larch Street from 11:47 p.m. Friday to 12:51 a.m. Saturday, Lt. Jon Ainsworth said.

In the first, a 17-year-old boy is suspected of being drunk when he drove his compact car off the road and into a tree, Ainsworth said. He was in serious condition at a local hospital where a 17-year-old girl passenger was also treated, the lieutenant said.

Four minutes later, a van rear-ended a pickup truck as the two were passing the earlier crash, Ainsworth said. The van’s driver, Christopher Urquides, 28, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, he said. Neither driver was hurt, but, an hour later, Urquides was slightly hurt when a car struck the parked police car in which he was sitting, Ainsworth said.

Driver Craig Berg, 21, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and hospitalized in serious condition, Ainsworth said, and Berg’s passenger, Perry Paul, 24, of Simi Valley, was critically hurt.