3 Survive Head-On Crash on Ortega Highway
Two occupants of a compact car survived a head-on collision with a truck on Ortega Highway Monday morning with only minor injuries.
Martine Robards, 47, of Hemet, suffered a fractured ankle and was transported to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo. Michael Robards, her 16-year-old son, escaped with cuts and bruises.
The driver of the truck, Michael Salvatore, 34, of Nuevo, Calif., was not hurt.
Salvatore was attempting to pass a truck at about 6:30 a.m., said California Highway Patrol officers. His vehicle moved into the opposite lane and collided head-on with a Honda driven by Martine Robards.
The collision demolished the Honda and closed the two-lane road temporarily. The accident occurred about 14 miles east of the San Diego Freeway.
Ortega Highway is a winding road that passes over a stretch of steep hills between Lake Elsinore and Orange County. The road has been the scene of numerous accidents.
Last year, there were 85 accidents, three of them fatal, on Orange County’s portion of the highway.
In May, the county Sheriff’s Department retrieved more than 40 rusting, wrecked vehicles from the bottom of steep canyons near the road.
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