Crime & Safety
Fatal PCH Crash Includes Trabuco Canyon Victims
Trabuco Canyon residents among the six injured as an Irvine man is killed Sunday afternoon in a four-car crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach.
An investigation was under way Monday into a four-car crash in Laguna Beach that claimed the life of one man, and left six others injured, police reported.
The deadly crash occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on North Coast Highway and Irvine Cove Drive. Erik Ortiz Valencia, 29, of Irvine was the passenger in a silver Honda S2000 that lost control and struck a truck, according to a report from the Orange County coroner's office. Valencia was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Laguna Beach police Capt. Jason Kravetz said the driver of the Honda was a 27-year-old Mission Viejo resident.
"Because this is an active criminal investigation, the driver's name is not being released because he is a suspect and has not been arrested," Kravetz said. "Directions of travel and movements are still under investigation."
A Toyota 4Runner was the second car involved in the crash, according to police, and was driven by a 65-year-old Trabuco Canyon man. Although he had complained about pain, he was not transported to a hospital. His passengers, a 60-year-old Trabuco Canyon woman and an 84-year-old New York resident, were both transported to a hospital and later released.
A 24-year-old woman from San Juan Capistrano was driving a GMC Sierra which was also involved in the crash. She was taken to UCI Medical Center with abrasions and later released. The woman's 68-year-old passenger, also from San Juan Capistrano, was transported to Western Medical Center for fractured ribs and a partially collapsed lung. A second passenger, a 65-year-old San Juan Capistrano woman, suffered fractured ribs and was taken to UCI Medical Center.
Police said a Toyota Camry was also involved in the crash, but did not release any information about the driver or passenger.North Coast Highway was closed in both directions from about 1:34 p.m. until 11 p.m. Sunday.
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The driver of the S2000, which Kravetz said caused the fatal crash, suffered severe injuries, but was expected to survive. He was transported to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.
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