El Toro : 1 Killed, 1 Hurt as Car Leaves Road, Hits Tree
The driver of a speeding car was killed and his passenger was critically injured early Sunday when the vehicle spun off rain-slick El Toro Road and hit a tree, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.
William Hatch, 18, of Placentia was declared dead at the scene of the 2:04 a.m. crash, said CHP dispatcher Marcella Ozenne. She said the passenger, Bryan Kinnee, 19, of Mission Viejo, was being treated at Mission Community Hospital for major injuries.
Kinnee told investigators that the weather was cloudy and the pavement wet as Hatch steered a 1978 Ford Pinto west on El Toro Road at about 70 m.p.h.
About one-fifth of a mile west of Live Oak Canyon Road, Kinnee said, the car skidded to the left and spun in a 180-degree turn off the road. The rear of the car struck the tree.
Hatch was apparently killed on impact, investigators said. The cause of the accident was under investigation.
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