Man Killed, 2 Injured in Irvine Crash

Firefighters used special equipment to rescue two men from a crumpled auto after a cross-over collision Friday morning in Irvine left one motorist dead, authorities said.

Ronald Joseph Baker, 30, of Riverside died of massive internal injuries after he drove his car into oncoming, rush-hour traffic on Irvine Center Drive, colliding with another vehicle, police said.

The driver of the other car, Robert Harrington, 31, of San Clemente, was taken by a Med-Air helicopter to the Western Medical Center in Santa Ana with serious injuries. He was listed in critical condition after undergoing more than seven hours of surgery Friday.

A passenger in Harrington’s car, Rodney Monroe, 27, of San Clemente, was taken to Saddleback Community Hospital in Laguna Hills. Baker was alone and Harrington had no other passengers.

Irvine police Lt. Gene Norden said Baker apparently was traveling at almost 70 m.p.h. and ran off the road to the right. “He then apparently overcompensated, trying to come back, and crossed the yellow line into the side of traffic coming the other way,” Norden said.

Baker apparently was killed on impact.

Both Harrington and Baker were pinned in their cars and were removed with the Orange County Fire Department’s hydraulic-prying device. The impact blew apart a five-gallon bucket of white paint in the back of the Harrington car, making the firefighters’ work in removing the men more difficult.

“Our men were covered with paint,” Fire Department spokesman Pat Antrim said. “It was so bad they could hardly see what they were doing when they tried to get those fellows out.”

The accident occurred in a rural area along the two-lane road just a mile south of the entrance to Lion Country Safari. Traffic was heavier than usual because of the rush hour, but no other cars were involved.