Deadly Chaos on 405: Driver Rams Barriers, Kills Road Worker, Self

A Mission Viejo man drove his van through a closed section of the San Diego Freeway early Thursday, slamming into a maintenance truck and killing himself and a highway worker, the California Highway Patrol said.

The driver, Eulalio Castillo, 38, and the highway worker, Kevin Smith, 26, of Lancaster, were pronounced dead at the scene, CHP Officer Angel Johnson said. A second worker, Robert Ornelas, 25, of La Puente was injured. He was listed in fair condition with back injuries at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

The accident occurred about 12:10 a.m. as workers employed by Sterndahl Enterprises of San Fernando, a company on contract with the California Department of Transportation, were repainting white stripes and replacing reflective lane markers on the southbound San Diego Freeway near Irvine Center Drive.

Johnson said that Caltrans had closed the southbound lanes to traffic and that motorists were being directed onto the shoulder around the construction zone.

Castillo’s 1985 Chevrolet van, traveling in excess of 80 m.p.h., slammed through a barrier of cones onto the closed portion of the freeway and crossed three lanes before ramming into the back of a stationary flatbed truck, Johnson and witnesses said.

Smith was crushed behind the truck. Castillo, a repair technician for Sears, Roebuck & Co., was killed instantly, Johnson said. Firefighters had to use a hydraulic tool to pry Castillo’s body from the wreckage, she said.

“The impact of the crash was so great that a pair of scissors in the van flew around and was impaled in his lower left back,” CHP Officer Linda Burrus said.

Johnson said there were no skid marks or other evidence to suggest that Castillo tried to brake before impact. It will not be known whether Castillo had been drinking or was under the influence of drugs until an autopsy and toxicological tests are performed by the Orange County coroner’s office, she said.

Checks with the Department of Motor Vehicles showed that Castillo had no driving violations. His brother, who declined to be identified by name, said Castillo was married, with three children. He declined further comment.

Johnson said the accident is evidence of the perils faced daily by CHP officers and freeway workers. According to Caltrans, 38 highway workers statewide have been killed and hundreds more injured since 1974.

“That’s one of our biggest worries--getting hit,” Johnson said. “We don’t worry so much about getting shot as we worry about getting run over by a car.”

Ornelas said from his hospital bed that he and Smith had often talked about the “drunk drivers and tired people” who make working on the freeway at night particularly dangerous.

Ornelas said he was standing at the back of the truck when it was struck by the van.

“The van just slammed in, it just went straight in,” he said. “We didn’t hear no brakes, we didn’t see no lights coming. Nothing.”

Ornelas said the crash “happened in a flash.” He said Smith was counting a pile of yellow ceramic reflectors when the van came hurtling toward them.

“He had absolutely no warning,” he said. “I was pretty dazed. I saw a fire (coming from the vehicles). I got up and tried to get away from the truck, but I fell down again.”

Ornelas and other Sterndahl employees described Smith as an “excellent person.” Smith became engaged to a Lancaster insurance saleswoman a few months ago. Ornelas and Sterndahl foreman David Rabon said Smith would constantly talk about his upcoming wedding, which was planned for November.

Rabon said that Smith had worked with the company for the last four years and that he was an amateur artist who enjoyed sketching mountain and desert landscapes. “He would do quite a good job with them . . . really incredible,” Rabon said. “When he finished them, he would give them to his co-workers. . . . “

“He was a real nice guy,” Ornelas said. “It’s real sad losing a friend.”