3 Hurt After Minivan Swerves off Freeway

Three people were injured Friday when a school minivan ran off the Ventura Freeway and--after flying 50 feet in the air--crashed in nearby underbrush, the California Highway Patrol said.

All three occupants, adults whose names were not released, were treated at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The driver, a woman, was treated for facial lacerations. The two passengers, a man and a woman, suffered minor injuries and were released, hospital spokeswoman Betty Neilson said.

The van belonged to Ryder Transportation Co., but the CHP did not know if the van was serving an educational institution at the time of the accident. The minivan was headed east on the Ventura Freeway near Forest Lawn Drive about 5:20 p.m. when the vehicle abruptly swerved off the road and over a steep embankment, Officer K.J. Pilon said.