Intersection Sees 3 Accidents in 2 Hours : 1 Woman in Serious Condition After Newport Beach Collisions

The most dangerous place in Newport Beach on Sunday night was the intersection of Bristol Street and Jamboree Boulevard.

Three traffic accidents occurred there in about two hours, the third one while police questioned the drivers from the second collision and a Caltrans crew tried to repair a traffic signal knocked down in the first accident.

“I’m sure the signal going down in the first (accident) was a factor in the other accidents,” said Police Officer Mark Fisher.

The first accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. when a small Fiat coupe driven by Lisa Crail, 19, of Newport Beach, traveling north on Jamboree, ran a red light and broadsided a tow truck, knocking the truck into the traffic signal on the northeast corner of the intersection, Fisher said.

Crail was reported in serious condition in the intensive care unit at Fountain Valley Community Hospital with undisclosed injuries. A passenger in her car and the driver of the tow truck suffered minor injuries.

No Injuries in 2nd Collision

Shortly after the wreckage was cleared from the scene, another collision occurred in the intersection, but no one was injured, Fisher said.

While a police officer was taking a report of that accident and a Caltrans crew worked on the damaged signal, another northbound auto, this one driven by John Ryburn, 48, of Orange, broadsided a car driven by Susan McCullough, 25, of Corona del Mar.

McCullough suffered bruises on her hip and both knees. Her husband, Blair, a passenger in her car, was uninjured.

Ryburn, who also was uninjured, said he saw the traffic light in the center divider of Jamboree, which was red, but thought the light was only for left-turn traffic, Fisher said.

Ryburn apparently did not see a signal light on the northwest corner of the intersection, and the light on the northeast corner was no longer standing, Fisher said.