South County : 2 Killed, 1 Injured in Single-Car Accidents

Two people were killed in separate, single-car accidents in south Orange County early Saturday and one person was seriously injured.

A car driven by Donald Sand, 51, of El Toro went out of control about 1:50 a.m. in the southbound lane of Santa Margarita Parkway, just south of Melinda Road in Mission Viejo. Killed was Sand’s passenger, Sherri M. Letterman, 43, of Mission Viejo. Sand was seriously injured and was taken to Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo.

The car left the road, flew about 100 feet in the air, then rolled down an embankment, coming to rest on its roof about 200 feet away from the road, according to the California Highway Patrol. It caught fire and burned over about 100 square feet of ground, the spokesman said.

Letterman was pronounced dead at Mission Community. It was unclear whether she was killed from the accident or from burns.

In a second accident, at 3:02 a.m., David J. Livermore, 20, of Huntington Beach, was killed when he apparently tried to make a turn in the middle of Moulton Parkway, south of El Toro Road in El Toro, and his car struck a tree in the median.

Another motorist did not witness the accident but arrived a short time later and pulled Livermore from the car, according to a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

The victim died at Mission Community Hospital at 4:24 a.m.