TARZANA : Driver Held After 2 Killed in Accident

A Van Nuys man who police say was driving drunk was booked on two counts of vehicular manslaughter Tuesday after he allegedly plowed into an oncoming car, killing the two occupants.

Police say Ramon Gonzalez, 46, ran a red light at Topham Street and Tampa Avenue in Tarzana around 12:40 a.m. and barreled into a Geo Metro on the opposite side of Topham.

The compact car was propelled more than 100 feet before Gonzalez’s car turned and ran into a utility pole, Los Angeles Police Officer Steve Schiltz said.

Aaron Hawkins, 45, and his wife, Mary Hawkins, 42, of Oxnard were pronounced dead on arrival at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, respectively, Schiltz said.

Aaron Hawkins was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident but it was uncertain whether his wife was wearing one, Valley Traffic Detective Jim Mann said.

Schiltz said two witnesses first noticed Gonzalez driving “crazily” on Balboa Boulevard. They told officers that before the collision at Tampa, Gonzalez’s Chevrolet Caprice sideswiped one car and collided with another on Balboa before speeding off toward Tampa. The witnesses then followed Gonzalez as he sped through intersections, often on the wrong side of the road, Schiltz said.

When the compact car was hit, Schiltz reported witnesses as saying that Gonzalez’s sedan was traveling between 65 and 80 m.p.h.

“He reeked of the smell of alcoholic beverages,” Schiltz said.

Gonzalez was being held in the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center in fair condition, police said.