Authorities Identify Victim of Fatal Crash

PALMDALE — A man who died after he lost control of his pickup truck on Pearblossom Highway and slammed into two poles was identified Wednesday as Elbert R. McNabb, of Albuquerque, officials said.

McNabb, 57, was towing a 24-foot travel trailer behind his pickup truck on eastbound Pearblossom Highway about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday when he hit the traffic signal posts, said Deputy Jeff Perkins of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

He was driving too fast and did not have time to slow down at a red light at Barrel Spring Road, Perkins said. He veered to the right to try to avoid hitting the cars in front of him, striking the poles, he said.

No one else was injured in the accident.

“My guess is he was not paying attention,” Perkins said. “He made a choice and chose not to hit the other cars. It cost him his life.”

McNabb suffered massive internal injuries. Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Co-workers told officials that McNabb, who was part of a group of private contract electricians, had just finished a job at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc and was driving home to New Mexico.