Lancaster woman killed in traffic crash

PALMDALE – A 65-year-old female driver died Monday morning after she failed to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and collided with a pickup truck in a Palmdale intersection, authorities said.

Joyce Sparks of Lancaster succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic collision, which occurred around 5:30 a.m. Monday, July 6, on East Avenue R-2 at Longview Road, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

Sparks was driving a 1997 Lexus sedan eastbound on East Avenue R-2 at an undetermined speed, while 32-year-old Palmdale resident Joseph Imperial was driving a 1995 Ford pickup truck southbound on Longview Road, the CHP report states.

“[Sparks] failed to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic on Longview Road and proceeded into the intersection directly into the path of the 1995 Ford pickup. As a result, both vehicles collided,” the CHP report states.

Sparks was airlifted by the Los Angeles County Fire Department (Air 19) to Antelope Valley Hospital, where she died from her injuries, according to the CHP report.

Imperial was treated and released at the scene.

–