3 children taken from drinking parents after van crashes

The children were not properly secured in the van but none were seriously hurt in the accident, which occurred on Van Nuys Boulevard just north of Valerio Street around 12:30 a.m., said Sgt. Don Kelly of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

The parents of the three children had been drinking and called a friend to drive them home in his van, said Officer R. Shaffer, also of Valley Traffic. But the friend was also under the influence, as was the driver of the Mustang with which the van collided, Shaffer said.

A 4-month-old girl was in a tub used to wash feet instead of a baby car seat, he said. A 2-year-old boy who had not been placed in a child safety seat suffered a red bruise on his cheek, and a 4-year-old girl sitting between her parents on a back seat had a lump on her left cheek, he said.

The children's mother had a lump on her head, and both their father and the van driver suffered abrasions, Shaffer said. The Mustang driver was transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of more serious injuries, he said.

The two drivers will face DUI charges, Shaffer said.