Both Drivers Killed in Head-On Collision : Traffic accident: Truck swerving near El Toro base hits Volvo station wagon, injuring 3 small children.

The drivers of two vehicles were killed and three small children were injured Saturday in a head-on collision outside El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The crash occurred about 12:40 p.m. when the driver of a gray GMC pickup going north on Sand Canyon Avenue swerved into the southbound lanes near Trabuco Road and slammed into a Volvo station wagon with four people.

“The driver of the truck was driving erratically, swerving in and out of traffic at speeds of 50 to 70 m.p.h.,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Angel Johnson.

Both drivers were killed instantly. The driver of the truck was identified as John Paul Renzi, 43, of Trabuco Canyon. The identity of the other driver was not disclosed late Saturday because relatives had not been notified.

Three children riding in the Volvo suffered undisclosed injuries. One of them was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center and is in serious condition. The other two were taken to undisclosed hospitals, and their conditions could not be learned late Saturday.

“Looks like the children were very lucky,” Johnson said as she surveyed the twisted wreckage. The impact of the collision was so intense that debris from the vehicles was scattered at least 100 feet around the crash site.

Before colliding with the Volvo, the driver of the pickup grazed the side of another car about a mile earlier but caused no injuries. Witnesses said the pickup driver then continued to weave along the road at various speeds before crossing the double yellow line and hitting the Volvo.

“It was horrible,” said Ron Ditto, 30, of Ranch Santa Margarita, who was driving behind the pickup. “I was honking my horn trying to warn people ahead.”

Ditto said that after the collision, he and a couple other people went to the aid of the children. “One of the kids looked like she had back injuries, and we didn’t move her,” he said. One of the injured children was an 8-year-old girl. Johnson didn’t know the ages or sex of the other two children.

Johnson said that investigators were checking into the possibility that the driver of the pickup was suffering a medical problem or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The Volvo occupants had recently moved to the Marine base from Virginia, the officer said.