Countywide : Traffic Accidents Take 3 Lives Over Weekend

Three people died as a result of traffic accidents in Orange County over the weekend, according to authorities.

John Cordaway, 34, of Orange died a short time after he was struck by two cars as he tried to cross the street in the 2600 block of North Tustin Avenue in Orange shortly before midnight Saturday, police said.

Richard P. Edel, 25, also of Orange, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and felony hit-and-run after he returned to the scene of the accident, according to investigators. The second driver was not cited.

Earlier Saturday, Curtis Desoto, 26, of El Toro suffered fatal injuries when he crashed his motorcycle on Live Oak Canyon Road. Officers said Desoto was riding alone about 9:40 p.m. when he apparently lost control on a curve, struck an embankment and was thrown into a tree.

Desoto was airlifted from the scene by helicopter to Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he died.

In the third accident Saturday, a 37-year-old Torrance man died after he apparently lost control of his car and crashed on the San Diego Freeway in San Juan Capistrano.

The California Highway Patrol said Thomas Dolan was northbound on the freeway just north of Junipero Serra Road at 5:20 p.m. when his car went into the center divider, veered back across traffic lanes and flipped over the side of an embankment. Dolan was pronounced dead at Mission Community Hospital.