ORANGE : Driver Killed When Car Leaves Freeway

A driver was killed and two passengers were injured Friday when his car veered off the Garden Grove Freeway in Orange, the California Highway Patrol said.

Ameilia Esteban Guzman, 25, of Santa Ana was pronounced dead at the UCI Medical Center in Orange at about 9 a.m. The passengers, Juan Hernandez, 19, and Alfredo Becerra, 26, both of Orange, were hospitalized in good condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

The accident occurred at 5:10 a.m. west of Cambridge Street, CHP Officer Angel Johnson said.

Other motorists reported that Guzman was driving in an “erratic manner” before he swerved off the highway and hit a steep dirt embankment, Johnson said.

The 1980 Mazda flipped over several times, ejecting Hernandez.

Guzman was pinned inside the vehicle while Becerra left the scene and was later found by CHP officers at Western Medical Center.

Guzman died of massive head injuries, Johnson said.

“One of the passengers told (officers) that the driver had at least five beers before he took the wheel,” Johnson said.