The Region : Five Injured in Orange County Crash

A woman lost a leg and two other occupants of a van were seriously injured when the vehicle swerved and crashed into a flatbed truck stopped on the shoulder of the Santa Ana Freeway near Brookhurst Avenue in Anaheim. All southbound traffic was blocked for more than 1 1/2 hours, California Highway Patrol officers reported. The three victims, the injured woman, the male driver and a 5-year-old-boy, were thrown from the van when it hurtled into the truck, smashing the entire right front side, CHP Officer Humphrey Fransiscus said. Fransiscus said the van then swerved across three lanes and hit a car carrying two women, who suffered minor injuries. There was no immediate identification of the van’s victims. They were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange by helicopter. Doctors there were said to be trying to reattach the leg of the woman, who also suffered a broken back. In addition to the southbound I-5 lanes, the CHP closed the transition road from the eastbound SR 91 Riverside/Artesia Freeway to the I-5 freeway and diverted traffic to other SR 91 lanes.