LA HABRA : Passenger Killed in Car Accident
A 20-year-old Buena Park man was killed Sunday when the car he was riding in struck a van and then flipped several times, authorities said.
Julian Soto died at the scene when the impact threw him partially out the passenger window and the car landed on top of him, said Sgt. Thomas Campbell of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Norwalk station.
The driver, Jose Guadalupe Rodriguez, also 20 and of Buena Park, fell asleep at the wheel and veered into the median of southbound Beach Boulevard, Campbell said. The jolt caused him to wake up, and he reacted by steering sharply to the right across two lanes.
The car clipped the rear of a southbound van. Both vehicles began spinning uncontrollably and then flipped over several times, Campbell said.
Rodriguez was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers on suspicion of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter and was was being held at Orange County Jail.
The driver of the van was taken to Friendly Hills Hospital in La Habra, suffering back pain.
The 8:30 a.m. accident occurred in an unincorporated area bordering La Mirada and Fullerton, Campbell said.
The CHP normally handles traffic accidents in unincorporated areas, but the accident was initially thought to have occurred in La Mirada, which is under the jurisdiction of the sheriff’s Norwalk station, he explained.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
