13 Hurt in Van Crash on Highway 33

Six adults and seven children were injured, three of them critically, when a rented van carrying three families crashed Saturday afternoon on California 33 north of Lockwood Valley, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred about noon, just inside Ventura County and about four miles south of the Santa Barbara County town of Ventucopa, authorities said. The families were driving to their homes in Lakewood in Los Angeles County.

The driver of the van, Mun Pang, 45, was probably speeding and lost control of the van on a curve, according to CHP Officer Bill Waterhouse.

Waterhouse said the van went onto the shoulder, slammed into a mountainside and flipped at least twice. Not everyone in the van was wearing seat belts but no one was ejected, authorities said.

The first firefighters on the scene declared the accident a “mass casualty” situation, which allowed them to call out several agencies as well as three ambulances and two helicopters, Waterhouse said. During the rescue effort, the highway was closed for more than an hour.

According to Waterhouse, the most seriously injured were two children and one adult, who were flown to Ventura County Medical Center and Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria. The ages of the children ranged from 6 to 12, Waterhouse said.

The remaining victims were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Kern and Santa Barbara counties.

In addition to Pang, the adults in the car were Pang’s wife, Bok Pang, 43, Byung and Song Yang, 48 and 42, and Doo and Christine Chang, 49 and 42, respectively.

Waterhouse didn’t know the nature of the injuries but said everyone was expected to survive.