A Fresno woman and her 13-year-old niece were killed in a traffic accident on Monday evening when the driver failed to stop for a posted sign at a rural Fresno County intersection and was broadsided by another vehicle.

Nanette Villalva, 40, and her niece -- who was not formally identified by California Highway Patrol officials -- sustained fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene. Alcohol is not suspected as being a factor in the collision at the intersection of Chateau Fresno and Jensen avenues.

At 8:40 p.m., Villalva was driving a 1995 Buick northbound on Chateau Fresno Avenue approaching the Jensen Avenue intersection when she drove through a stop sign and directly into the path of a 2002 Ford heading east, causing a broadside impact.

The driver of the Ford, 21-year-old Nester Ojeda, received minor injuries in the collision.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(April 1, 2008)