Witness Says Driver Ran Light, Causing 5-Car Crash Injuring 3

Three people were injured, one critically, when a motorist ran a red light and triggered a five-vehicle accident Friday evening, police said.

Derek C. McCollum, 23, of Orange was critically injured when his brown 1977 Datsun 280-Z hurtled through the intersection of Kraemer Boulevard and Miraloma Avenue and caused the pileup shortly after 5 p.m., officials said.

Police said McCollum’s car struck a Buick broadside, hit a Ford pickup truck and bounced off a Toyota before finally coming to a halt in the middle of the intersection. The Toyota struck a delivery truck, police said.

Emergency crews used the Jaws of Life hydraulic tool to remove McCollum and the driver of the Buick, Marilyn J. Williams, 56, of Anaheim, from their cars. Helicopters flew McCollum to UCI Medical Center and Williams to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where she was listed in stable condition Friday night.

The driver of the pickup truck, Richard W. Hill, 55, of Anaheim, was taken to Placentia Community Hospital, apparently for an ankle injury. The drivers of the Toyota and the delivery truck were uninjured, police said.

Sandy Gipson, 44, of Orange, who witnessed the crash, said McCollum’s car was “just a brown streak” as it shot through the intersection at what she estimated was more than 60 m.p.h. Shattered glass showered down at the intersection as his Datsun collided with the other vehicles, she said.

One bystander grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed the wrecked Datsun after seeing smoke rising from the hood, she said.