This Oct. 8, 2014 driver license photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Alan Dean Edwards. Authorities say Edwards, who was in a custody battle with his ex-wife, deliberately crashed his car into a big-rig on a Southern California freeway, killing himself and his two children. Edwards, of Lancaster, Calif., his 9-year-old son, Erick, and 5-year-old daughter Alona all died in the crash Monday morning, Dec. 8, 2014 on Interstate 5 near Castaic, Calif. Authorities say Edwards was traveling at high speed when he slammed his Honda Accord into the back of a tractor-trailer that was parked in a brake-check area. Nicole Nishida of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Edwards had picked up the children from his ex-wife Friday, and she filed a missing persons report when they failed to return Sunday. (AP Photo/California DMV)
December 09, 2014 - 6:41 PM
CASTAIC, Calif. - A man who was in a custody battle with his ex-wife deliberately crashed his car into a tractor-trailer on a Southern California freeway, killing himself and his two children, authorities said Tuesday.
Alan Dean Edwards, 46, of Lancaster, his 9-year-old son, Erick Dean Edwards, and 5-year-old daughter, Alona Marie Edwards, all died in the crash on Interstate 5 around 1 a.m. Monday.
The truck was parked in a brake-check area in Castaic, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, when it was struck from behind by Edwards' fast-moving Honda Accord, authorities said.
The driver didn't make "any attempts to stop," said Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The front half of the car was crushed and wedged under the truck.
Edwards and his former wife were in a custody battle and he had picked up the children Friday for a scheduled visit, Nishida said. She filed a missing persons report when they failed to return Sunday, Nishida said.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014