Crime & Safety

Crash Looked Bad, Serves as a Reminder

No one was seriously injured, but a vehicle ended up in the center divider of the tollway and burned after the driver lost control trying to merge.

A single-car crash on Wednesday shut down traffic in both directions of the 241 toll road for about five minutes as the Orange County Fire Authority extinguished a burning vehicle.

The car and driver were apparently a victim of the elements as a 51-year-old man from Trabuco Canyon tried to merge onto the northbound 241 toll road at about 3:35 p.m. 

According to officer Chris Goodwin of the California Highway Patrol, the driver tried to enter the freeway off the Santa Margarita Parkway exit but the driver lost control of the 2003 Chevy Suburban as it reached the bottom of the ramp. The car went across all lanes and rolled onto its left side in the center divider against a retaining wall. 

Find out what's happening in Rancho Santa Margaritawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The driver, who had minor injuries and was taken to Mission Hospital, escaped; the Suburban caught fire and burned.

"The California Highway Patrol would like to remind all drivers that they must reduce their speed and increae their following distance while driving in inclement weather, especially during the first stages of rain; the roadways are incredibly slick, requiring more stopping distance," Goodwin said. "Rushing or trying to save time by driving above safe speeds during the rain is not worth being involved in a traffic collision."

Find out what's happening in Rancho Santa Margaritawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Goodwin said that the rains from Wednesday's storm made for a long workday for the CHP.

"Yesterday it was rather busy," Goodwin said. "Nothing too major, but every time it rains, CHP has multiple collisions we respond to because people don’t slow down; they drive like they do on a dry roadway. That’s why it’s imperative that they slow down because those roadways are slick from all the fluids that leak on the road fro the summer months, gas, oil, brake fluid, automatic transmission fluid.

"If you see rainbows on the roadway, it's a good indication that it's slick out there."


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