Boy, 13, was moving with mother to Oregon, relative says

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Crash victim identified

Boy, 13, was moving with mother to Oregon, relative says

By Jessica Selva
Signal Staff Writer
jselva@the-signal.com
661-259-1234 x518
Posted: Oct. 1, 2009 10:04 p.m.
POSTED Oct. 2, 2009 4:55 a.m.
Authorities on Thursday identified a 13-year-old boy who died in a crash on northbound Interstate 5 in Newhall.

Kristopher Raymond Kelly died in the Wednesday collision just south of Calgrove Boulevard, said John Kades of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Kelly and his grandfather, Phil Logan Kelly, 68, were from Myrtle Point, Ore., according to the CHP report. However, a relative said Kristopher was in the process of moving with his family to Oregon from the Valencia area.

Kristopher was the passenger in a U-Haul truck his grandfather was driving when the truck crashed into an unoccupied vehicle parked on the right shoulder that had been involved in a previous, unrelated crash Wednesday afternoon, the report said.

California Highway Patrol officers were investigating the case to determine the cause of the fatal collision, said Officer John Lutz.

The investigation could take about eight days, he said.

A cousin of the boy's grandfather who lives in Coos Bay, Ore., described Phil Kelly as an "extremely kind man."

"He had gone down to California to pick up his daughter and her children," said Laurie Livermore, who added that the man's daughter was moving from the Valencia area to Coos Bay where she had just landed a job.

Livermore said Kelly's daughter and another child were following the U-Haul and arrived quickly at the crash site where her son was killed.

"It's so likely (Phil Kelly) was pulling over to help the people in the (prior) accident and wasn't aware of the weight of the truck," Livermore said, speculating about the cause of the crash.

About 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the U-Haul was fully loaded and pulling a trailer carrying a passenger vehicle.

Witnesses said the truck was traveling at speeds of 65 to 70 mph, according to the report.

Meanwhile, just south of the Calgrove Boulevard exit, a two-axle box van and another vehicle had parked on the right shoulder of the freeway after an unrelated collision that resulted in no injuries.

For unknown reasons, the boy's grandfather crossed onto the right shoulder where the van was parked, the report said.

He swerved to the left to avoid hitting the parked vehicle, but slammed into the left rear of the van, sending it spinning 180 degrees, according to the report.

The impact sent the van's cargo flying through its destroyed side wall.

The U-Haul stopped when it hit a guardrail on the right shoulder, the report said.

The 13-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:23 p.m., Kades said.

The grandfather was transported to the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

CHP officials did not suspect drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.