CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : ANAHEIM : Victory Celebration Marred by Tragedy

A victory celebration for an Anaheim father and son who won a $50,000 cross-country auto race was shattered by tragedy when they learned shortly after crossing the finish line that the older man’s 2-year-old grandson was killed in a boating accident. “The race is like nothing,” said Frank Currie, who along with his son Raymond won the Ninth Annual Great American Race, a 4,280-mile odyssey from Norfolk, Va., to Seattle by drivers of classic pre-1938 cars. “It’s totally meaningless.” While father and son were celebrating their victory at the end of the race in Seattle Thursday afternoon, the older Currie’s 2-year-old grandson, Ryan, was killed in a boating accident on the Colorado River about 20 miles south of Bullhead City, Ariz. Ryan’s maternal grandfather, William Wagner, 64, of Brea, was also killed in the accident at the Currie’s vacationing place. Mohave County authorities said Ryan and Wagner died when their Seadoo, a motorized water recreational vehicle, collided with a 21-foot motor boat, driven by Cal Hill, 31, of Whittier.