Orange : Missouri Man, Niece Killed in Car Crash

A visitor from Missouri and his niece were killed while returning home from an Angels baseball game Tuesday night when their car was hit broadside by another car on La Veta Avenue near Silktree Circle, police said Wednesday.

Police said Vernon Lee Kemph, 49, of St. Charles, Mo., and his niece, Patricia Michelle Nelson, 18, of Santa Ana, died of injuries received in the 10:25 p.m. crash.

Kemph was eastbound on La Veta Street from Anaheim Stadium when he attempted a U-turn near Silktree Circle and pulled into the path of another vehicle on La Veta, Detective Robert Gustafson said.

Kemph was treated at the scene by paramedics and then taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was pronounced dead, Gustafson said.

His niece was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she was also pronounced dead, police said.

The driver of the other car, Hilario Flores Lopez, 27, of Santa Ana, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Kemph was visiting relatives in Orange County and had offered to take his niece and nephew, Scott Christopher Nelson, 12, to watch a baseball game. Scott, who was asleep in the back seat of Kemph’s rented car, was not injured, police said.

No citations were issued.