Westminster Crash Kills Woman, 21, Injures Two

A 21-year-old woman was killed and two men were injured early Wednesday in a four-vehicle crash that left a tractor-trailer and its load of televisions and appliances strewn across Westminster Boulevard, police said.

The accident, which closed all but one lane of traffic for five hours on the busy boulevard, was “probably one of the worst ones I’ve seen” in Westminster, Police Department spokesman Larry Woessner said.

Kim Roxanne Rayburn, a Huntington Beach resident who worked as a driver for an Irvine courier company, was declared dead at the scene, authorities said.

Trapped in Vehicle

Rayburn, who was trapped in her crushed car, died before paramedics from a fire station across the street from the wreck could save her, Woessner said.

Rayburn had just left a package at an escrow office at the intersection of Golden West Street and Bolsa Avenue and was en route to another destination when the collision occurred about 8:40 a.m., Deputy Coroner Dan Aikin said.

The 10-wheel truck and a Volkswagen, traveling west alongside each other on Westminster Boulevard near Olive Street, smacked together.

The truck went out of control and veered into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with two cars, including Rayburn’s, Woessner said.

Truck Overturns

Upon impact, Woessner said, the truck flopped over, its load of television sets and appliances spilling out over both eastbound lanes in the 7400 block. The road was closed until 1:45 p.m. to all but one westbound lane of traffic between Golden West and Hoover streets, Woessner said.

The driver of the truck was identified as Steve Wilson Holliday, 39, of Cypress. Holliday, who works for Milne Truck Lines, was en route with his cargo to Best Products Co. department store outside Westminster Mall, Woessner said.

Besides Rayburn’s small car, the truck smashed into a car driven by Duane Leonard Luedke, 58, of Westminster, who suffered a broken leg.

Both injured men were treated at the scene by paramedics, then taken to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said that Luedke was admitted in serious condition and that Holliday was treated and released.

Driver Escapes

Woessner said the Volkswagen driver, Michael James Stafford, 19, of Huntington Beach, was not injured.

According to Woessner, investigators are trying to determine what caused the truck and Volkswagen to merge and trigger the fatal crash, which occurred right in front of the new Westminster Fire Department station. Woessner said a paramedic at the station witnessed the collision.