Car Collides Head-On With Truck; 3 Seriously Injured

Three people, including a year-old boy, were seriously injured Tuesday night when a car and truck collided head-on along a winding, unlit stretch of canyon road, authorities said.

The accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. Highway Patrol Officer George Luce said a black Toyota MR2 was heading south on Live Oak Canyon Road just north of O’Neill Regional Park when its driver lost control, jumped the divider and struck an oncoming Toyota truck carrying a man and his year-old son.

The father and son, who were not identified, apparently had their seat belts on “because the father was conscious and out of the truck when we arrived,” Luce said.

It was unclear whether the car’s driver, also not identified, wore a seat belt.

The three were flown to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where father and son remained in serious condition, while the MR2 driver was in critical condition.

Some pool-cleaning chemicals stored in the back of the truck were thrown into the roadway, prompting the Orange County Fire Department to send out a hazardous-materials team to clean up the spill, Fire Capt. George Antrim said.

The road was closed in both directions as authorities worked to clear the wreckage.

Times correspondent Lily Dizon contributed to this report.