Irvine : 2 on Cycle, 1 Pedestrian Die in Traffic Mishaps

Two hospital corpsmen from Camp Pendleton, riding a motorcycle on the San Diego Freeway through Irvine Thursday night, rear-ended a slow-moving truck, killing them instantly, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Twenty minutes later, another man was killed in nearby Laguna Hills after he left a rock concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, tried to walk along Moulton Parkway on foot and was struck by an oncoming car.

The first accident occurred at 11:30 p.m. just south of University Drive, officers said. A truck heading north on the freeway had blown a rear tire and had slowed to about 40 m.p.h. when the motorcycle ran directly into the rear of the truck, officers said.

Authorities identified the victims as Navy hospital corpsmen Bret A. Cope, 21, the driver of the motorcycle, and his passenger, Timothy J. Hudson.

No one in the truck was injured, officers said.

In the second accident, the CHP identified the victim as Anthony John Gurrola, 23, of Pasadena. Witnesses said he tried to cross the wide street just south of the Lake Forest Drive intersection but did not seem to look for oncoming traffic, officers said.

The driver of the car that struck Gurrola was not cited, officers said.