IRVINE : 1 Killed, 6 Hurt as Car Hits Bricklayers

One man died and six people were injured Monday when a car failed to stop at the end of a residential street and struck two bricklayers building a mailbox, police said.

One mason died of his injuries at Irvine Medical Center, according to Irvine police. His name was not released pending notification of relatives. His co-worker, Martin Contreras, 22, was being treated for injuries at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and was listed in stable condition.

All of the people in the car--a man, woman and three children--also were being treated for injuries, but authorities did not release their names.

The accident occurred just before noon at the corner of Normandie and Deerfield avenues.

“The car was traveling down Deerfield, which comes to a dead end,” said Frances McGillis, who lives nearby, “and I guess they didn’t see the stop sign because they went over a two-foot wall before hitting the two men.”

McGillis said that after the accident she saw an elderly man and woman wearing neck braces and being treated for injuries along with three small children.

Terry Bellah, 44, said the car hit the wall and landed on a wheelbarrow 15 feet from the street.

Bellah also said that a woman living nearby heard emergency vehicle sirens and came to the scene saying she was waiting for a couple with children and feared they were involved in the accident.

“The woman looked at the car and asked me if there was a man and a woman and three children. . . . I told her, ‘Yes,’ ” Bellah said. “Apparently they were supposed to visit her and she was wondering where they were.”

Police were still investigating the accident and did not say if the driver would be arrested or cited.