LOS ANGELES — Two women and a 12-year-old girl died early Saturday in a solo-vehicle crash on a connector road between the 110 and 5 freeways, authorities said.
Two other men, a 13-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl also suffered minor-to-moderate injuries in the crash, which took place about 12:15 a.m. on the northbound 110 Freeway transition road to the northbound 5 Freeway, California Highway Patrol officials said in a written statement. All seven people involved in the crash were described as Lancaster residents, however their relationship to one another was not clear.
Killed were Katie Davila, 12, Abigail Romero, 19, and Abigail Estrella, 37, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner officials said.
All three were passengers in the SUV, which was being driven by a 55-year-old man, officials said.
First responders received a report of a solo-car crash when they encountered a 2000 GMC SUV overturned onto its side, CHP officials said. Four occupants had been thrown from the SUV, and three of them were pronounced dead at the scene.
“Initial information obtained at the scene indicated the vehicle veered to the right, off the roadway, for an undetermined reason and collided with the raised concrete wall,” according to the CHP statement. “This action caused the vehicle to overturn and skid on its right side until coming to a rest in the No. 2 lane.”
The survivors were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for treatment, officials said.
It was not clear Saturday afternoon whether those who were thrown from the SUV had been wearing seat belts, investigators added.
The cause of the crash was under investigation by officers from the Central Los Angeles office of the CHP.

Authorities evacuated Cal State University, Los Angeles Thursday following telephone bomb threats that were ultimately determined to be unfounded, authorities said.
The threat came in the form of two phone calls received by El Monte police between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., El Monte police Sgt. Roger Cobian said.
CSULA officials began evacuating the campus about noon, CSULA Paul Browning said.
In addition the college’s own Department of Public Safety, Los Angeles police, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s bomb squad officials and Los Angeles County firefighters responded to the scene, officials said.
Detective Mike Cofield of the Sheriff’s Arson-Explosives Detail said bomb squad members swept the campus with explosive-sniffing dogs.
But the search was called off about 2:30 p.m., LAPD Officer Christopher No said.
“Nothing was found.”
But school administrators still decided to cancel classes for the remainder of the day, CSULA spokesman Paul Browning said, adding that students were notified of the situation via social media and text alerts.
“It was a very calm and successful evacuation,” Browning said, adding that the evacuation was also announced over the school’s loud speaker.
Students first gathered in the quad, but then were asked to leave campus, Browning added. Many stood in groups on the outskirts of campus waiting for the “all clear.” The student dormitories were the first areas to be declared safe at about 1:45 p.m.
Sophomore Amy Gonzalez, 19, said she was in her dorm room when campus safety officers knocked at her door and told her she needed to evacuate.
“At first I just though it was a drill, but then when I saw the bomb squad and all the helicopters, I knew it was real,” she said.
“It was shocking,” Gonzalez said. “We are just college students, why would someone want to bomb us?”
Both threats were phoned in from pay phones within El Monte, Cobian said. One was in the 11200 block of Garvey Avenue, while the other was made from the 3800 block of Peck Road, he added.
Officers searched the area but found no possible suspects, police said.
Both calls were made by a person with what sounded like a male voice, Cobian said.
But whether the calls were made by the same person, “It can only be assumed, because of the closeness in timing and proximity.”
The first call stated that a bomb had been placed at CSULA, as well as “Cal Berkeley” – a reference to the University of California, Berkeley, Cobian said.
Police notified officials at the northern California school as well, he added.
The investigation was being spearheaded by the LAPD, officials said.
After moving about 10 feet in her car in a 30-minute time span as she tried to leave the campus, CSULA student Veronica Arroyo left her vehicle in the parking lot to exit the school on foot.
“I thought it was the safest and most intelligent thing to do,” she said.
Arroyo described the scene as “chaotic.”
Just after noon, academic adviser Jimmy Solis, of Whittier, heard a fire alarm as he worked in the campus library.
He and fellow staff proceeded to their designated areas as practiced in fire drills.
“We waited about 15 minutes in our specific location until campus police told us to evacuate the area because the campus was closed,” Solis said.
He returned to the library to gather his belongings, along the way telling people what campus police had told him.
Solis was able to leave the grounds in his car because he always parks near an exit.

– Brian Day, Lauren Gold, Sandra Molina

LOS ANGELES–Many school teachers across the nation are trained to pick up on clues of child abuse and neglect, but most are not trained to spot the signs of classroom pedophiles, leaving a gray area that could help teacher molesters operate undetected on campuses.

Experts say better training of school teachers and administrators in red-flag behavior could aid in catching molesters, pointing to the case of a former Los Angeles third-grade teacher who is charged with feeding some two dozen students semen-laced cookies, and blindfolding and gagging them over a five-year period.

“There are clear and consistent patterns of behavior. If you know what they are, they jump right out at you,” said Diane Cranley, founder of Talk About Abuse to Liberate Kids based in Laguna Niguel, Calif. “But there’s no awareness.”

Only a fraction of the nation’s 3 million educators are involved in any sexual misconduct with children. Although no national statistics are kept, a 2007 Associated Press investigation found 2,500 cases nationwide over five years where educators were punished for sexual abuse.

But that number is believed to be only a sliver of all sexual misconduct incidents.

…FULL STORY from the Associated Press