7 Injured in 3-Car Wreck on Santa Monica Freeway

LOS ANGELES — Seven people were injured Thursday morning--three critically--in a collision involving three vehicles on the eastbound Santa Monica Freeway near the La Brea Avenue exit, authorities said.

Three of the victims--a 21-year-old Los Angeles man and 28- and 19-year-old women--suffered serious injuries and were transported to local hospitals. They remained in critical condition, said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesperson Bob Collis.

The man, Chaim Moorvitch, suffered a 14-inch cut on the back of his head and was transported to County-USC Medical Center, said California Highway Patrol Officer Scott Ellison. A passenger in his car was treated for lesser injuries.

The women--Sunray Suhaemi, 28, from Monrovia and Sanborne Tulong, 19, from Seattle--had been riding in a 1999 Jeep Cherokee and were sent to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Ellison said.

Suhaemi suffered a pelvic fracture, a cut to her liver and a number of other cuts and bruises. Tulong suffered a broken pelvis and a cut to her eye.

Two other women in the car, both in their 20s, were treated and released. A man in his 20s, driving a 1995 Toyota pickup, was also involved in the accident. He was treated at the scene and released, Ellison said.