3 Hurt, 1 Fatally, in Auto Crash; Drunk Driving Suspected

A man suspected of drunk driving and carrying another man’s driver’s license was fatally hurt and his two passengers were injured Thursday in an early-morning accident, police said.

Samuel Ray Melendez, 29, of Carson died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana shortly after the 3 a.m. accident, police said.

His passengers, Jesse Martinez, 36, of Tucson, Ariz., and Potuasaisa Faalafua, 29, of Carson, were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where they were in fair condition Thursday night, according to a nursing supervisor.

Witnesses said Melendez was driving south on Jamboree Road, about half a mile south of Edinger Avenue, when his car struck the center median. The car flipped over several times before coming to a stop about 200 yards down the road, witnesses told police.

Faalafua and Melendez were ejected from the car, while Martinez remained in the front passenger seat, Lt. Houston Williams said.

Officials of the coroner’s office said they had difficulty identifying Melendez. The only identification he had was the driver’s license of a 33-year-old Napa man.

Coroner’s deputies eventually identified Melendez through fingerprint records.