Local News in Brief : Irvine : CHP Seeking 2 Suspects in Freeway Hit-and-Run

California Highway Patrol investigators on Monday were seeking two suspects in a hit-and-run accident that critically injured one truck driver who had stopped to aid another on the Santa Ana Freeway.

A CHP dispatcher said Monday that William Sutton, 38, of Downey, suffered a fractured skull and two broken legs when he was struck at 6:10 a.m. Saturday on the freeway near the Laguna Freeway exit.

Sutton had helped two passengers out of a truck that had jackknifed, according to investigators. He was still standing on the right shoulder of the freeway when a car traveling about 60 m.p.h. hit him.

The dispatcher said the two men in the car, who were described as Latinos, fled the car on foot. But a trace of the car’s license plate number has not turned up any suspects, she said.

Sutton, a Vietnam War veteran, is listed in critical condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. His sister-in-law, Myra Volk, said he has undergone brain surgery. “He is very, very critical,” Volk said.

She said Sutton has been a driver for Mayflower Van Lines for seven years and had just returned from a 32-day cross-country job. She said he was on his way to San Diego to make his last delivery when he was hit.

“He stopped because his company wants their drivers to stop and help anyone in distress on the road,” Volk said.

Anyone with information regarding the incident or the two suspects being sought were asked to contact the CHP.