Rain Sets Off 15-Car Crash; 5 Are Killed in Other Collisions

Slick roads triggered a chain of accidents involving at least 15 cars along Interstate 5 Sunday morning, concluding a tragic night in which five people died in traffic crashes in Orange County.

The huge mishap occurred just after 10 a.m. and stalled traffic for hours. But to the amazement of paramedics, the 12 people injured were quickly treated and released from South County hospitals, officials said.

“All the cars were pretty badly torn up,” said Capt. Michael Borer of the Orange County Fire Department, “but we were all very surprised, looking at the extent of the damage, at how minor the injuries were--bumps, bruises, that kind of thing. I was amazed.”

The heavy rains that contributed to the accident may also explain the lack of serious injuries, police and fire officials said, because the slick roads had slowed traffic and thus cut down on the severity of the collision.

But elsewhere, others died in rain-triggered crashes.

In Santa Ana, Jody Lynn White, 35, of Anaheim was killed Saturday night when the Pontiac in which she was a passenger spun out of control in heavy rain along the Costa Mesa Freeway at 17th Street and collided with another car. The driver of the other car, John F. Schmidt, 38, of Placentia, remained in critical condition Sunday night at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

In San Juan Capistrano early Sunday, a driver was decapitated when his Toyota went under the bed of a parked truck after drifting onto the right shoulder of northbound Interstate 5. The driver was Luis Diaz, 22, of Santa Ana. His passenger, Fernando Lemos, 23, of Santa Ana, was in critical condition Sunday night.

In Orange, three friends who left a party despite a friend’s warning about the treacherous weather were killed early Sunday when their Ford Mustang convertible veered out of control and overturned on the Garden Grove Freeway.

The 15-car accident in San Juan Capistrano on Sunday morning was started by an ill-advised lane change, said Sgt. Denny Dyer of the California Highway Patrol. That triggered a chain reaction of accidents along the southbound lanes stretching more than 100 yards, officials said.

“It was like a big pinball machine, with cars bouncing and swerving around,” he said. But in terms of serious injuries, he added, “it looked a lot worse than it was.”

One Ventura County family of six all suffered minor scrapes and bruises in the accident when their pickup truck ran up against the tail end of the collisions, officials said. They were all released from an area hospital later after treatment, nursing supervisors said. In all, at least 15 and perhaps as many as 21 vehicles were involved in the accident, police and fire officials said.

“I’ve been here 14 years,” said Kevin Brame, battalion chief and emergency medical coordinator for the Orange County Fire Department, “and I’ve only seen one or two accidents with so many cars and so many patients involved.”

Several cars skidded off the roadway and into an embankment. Auto parts and debris, as well as clothing and other contents from inside the cars, cluttered the pavement. From the Fire Department alone, 26 emergency personnel responded to the scene.

Traffic slowed to a crawl through early afternoon as the interstate was partially closed down to clear the scene.

Times staff writer Dan Weikel contributed to this story.