No Charges Yet In Flower Patch Crash

The "Road Closed" signs are hard to miss. Most of the the guard rail is missing. A wooden post in line with traffic safety cones is worse for wear. Broken glass 60 feet into the open field—the flower patch—at the end of Antonio Parkway across from is an easy reminder of the moment.

Charges still have not been filed against a Laguna Niguel woman at the wheel of a car that set off a chaotic scene at Antonio Parkway and Las Flores two weeks ago. However, if witness accounts are correct—that the 27-year-old woman was going as fast as 100 mph when she went through the stop sign, the intersection and the guard rail—then charges may be just a formality.

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"A driver with minor injuries complained of pain and abrasions," said Lt. Brian Schmutz, chief of police services for the city of Rancho Santa Margarita. "We're investigating possible reckless driving and DUI."

The vehicle landed on its driver's side, and the woman—trapped inside the car—had to be extricated with the jaws of life by Orange County Fire Authority. She walked to a gurney before being taken to Mission Hospital. According to Schmutz, she was the sole occupant of the vehicle in the July 27 crash.

Schmutz said that witnesses reported the car went against the red lights at traffic signals on Antonio before finally crashing into the guard rail, which still had not been fixed by the city as of late last week.

He said Orange County Sheriff was waiting on toxicology results to complete its investigation.