Advertisement

Local News in Brief : Garden Grove : Wrong-Way Driver Sets Off Chain of Crashes

Share

A man driving the wrong way on the Garden Grove Freeway collided with another motorist early Wednesday, setting off a chain reaction accidents that left five people injured and shut down the eastbound lanes of the freeway for a few hours, authorities said.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Leonard M. Gonzales, 40, of Long Beach was driving west in the eastbound lanes of the freeway at about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday when his car collided with a pickup truck driven by Ralph D. Robson, 31, of Riverside near the Magnolia Street off-ramp.

Two other drivers, Tien B. Bui, 31, of Corona and Binh Q. Trinh, 29, of Garden Grove crashed when they swerved to avoid the accident. Both suffered minor injuries, according to Leslie Hill of the Highway Patrol.

Advertisement

Ronald Allen, 33, of Moreno Valley, who had stopped his car to help the accident victims, suffered minor injuries when he jumped out of the path of a camper headed directly for him, Hill said.

Gonzales was listed in serious condition with several broken bones and other injuries at UCI Medical Center in Orange, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Hill said Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

Robson was reported in serious condition at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

Advertisement