Home » Santa Clarita News » Detectives Suspect Lancaster Man Of Killing Self; Two Children
3 people were killed when the car they were in slammed into the rear of an 18 wheeler, parked in a parking lot. Photo by Rick McClure

Detectives Suspect Lancaster Man Of Killing Self; Two Children

Homicide detectives Tuesday suspect a man intentionally drove his car into the back of a big rig, killing himself and his two children.


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The coroner identified the driver as Alan Dean Edwards, 46 and his two children, Eric Dean Edwards, 9 and Alona Marie Edwards, 5, all of Lancaster. 

“CHP initially investigated (the scene) as a fatal crash, but in collaboration with the coroner they began to look at it and see it began to look like a deliberate act,” said Lt Eddie Hernandez of the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau.

3 people were killed when the car they were in slammed into the rear of an 18 wheeler, parked in a parking lot.  Photo by Rick McClure

3 people were killed when the car they were in slammed into the rear of an 18 wheeler, parked in a parking lot. Photo by Rick McClure

Edwards made no attempt to brake, was traveling at a high rate of speed and had to maneuver around objects to deliberately put him on the path to hit the big rig, Hernandez said. 

Edwards and his widow were in the middle of a custody battle and in the process of a divorce, Hernandez said. 

Edwards picked the kids up from school on Friday, as they had planned for him to do, but when he didn’t show up with the kids on Sunday, Sherri Edwards became concerned and made multiple attempts to get ahold of him, Hernandez said.

When the messages were unanswered, she filed a missing person report with the Lancaster Sheriff’s station.

Homicide detectives with Los Angeles County Sheriff Department are now handling the investigation, according to a CHP report.

Previous story: 

A 1997 Honda Accord driven by an unidentified man was heading southbound on I-5, and for unknown reasons, his car slammed into a truck parked at a designated brake check on I-5, near Templin Highway around 1 a.m., according to a CHP news release. 

The 2006 Freightliner towing a 2003 utility semi trailer was inside the brake check area at the east curb of the brake check, with the driver asleep in the sleeper berth.

“For unknown reasons the driver of the Honda Accord veered left as it approached the big rig and struck the rear of the big rig prior to any evasive action by the driver,” according to a CHP news release.

Emergency response teams received the call at 1:17 a.m. and officials were on scene by 1:30 a.m., according to Fire Department Inspector Flores.

The big rig driver was uninjured in the crash. 

3 people were killed when the car they were in slammed into the rear of an 18 wheeler, parked in a parking lot.  Photo by Rick McClure

3 people were killed when the car they were in slammed into the rear of an 18 wheeler, parked in a parking lot. Photo by Rick McClure

The Honda was wedged underneath the big rig upon arrival of emergency personnel. The driver, right front passenger, which was a male child, and a left rear passenger, a female child, were all declared dead at the scene. 

The entrance to the Whitaker Brake Check was closed for approximately six hours while the crash was investigated.

This is an ongoing investigation, and the story will be updated with new information as it is made available.

 

 

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Detectives Suspect Lancaster Man Of Killing Self; Two Children

3 comments

  1. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-08-09-honda-recall_N.htm

    Don’t assume the worst. Several hundred thousand recalled for stuck gas pedal and run away. Anybody checking that?

  2. I don’t think you meant to use the word “widow.”

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About Kimberly Beers

Kimberly Beers is a Santa Clarita native. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge in 2013. While attending the university, she focused her attention on news writing and worked as a primary news writer for the campus' award winning radio station and televised news program. She began writing news stories for KHTS in 2014 and hopes to have a lifetime career dedicated to writing and sharing the news