2 Marines Seriously Injured When Truck Rolls Off Freeway

Two Marines were seriously injured Wednesday when their military truck rolled off Interstate 5 near Ortega Highway in a possible hit-and-run accident.

Driver Pfc. Ricardo Valenzuela Jr., 22, and passenger Pvt. Lawrence Williams, 19, from the Tustin Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station were rescued from under the wreckage of the 2 1/2-ton transport truck, California Highway Patrol spokesman Bruce Lian said.

Valenzuela was in critical condition at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center and Williams was in serious condition there.

CHP investigators are looking for witnesses to the accident, which occurred at 10:55 a.m. on the northbound freeway.

“It looks like somebody cut them off,” said CHP officer Ken Daly, who arrived at the scene shortly after the accident. “Everything points in that direction. They were going in the slow lane at the speed limit, doing everything right. Witnesses said they suddenly swerved and went over the side. A truck driver said it looked like they were cut off.”

Sharply angled skid marks showed where the truck left the highway. The vehicle went down a 10-foot embankment, breaking a large tree into several pieces.

About 100 yards away, Ron Lobo, a California Department of Transportation supervisor, saw a huge dust cloud and ran to help.

“I hurried because I knew something had gone over the side,” he said. “One guy was pinned by the door and the other was lying on top of him. They were bleeding and seemed to be in pretty bad shape.”

Lobo said one man was awake and the other slipped in and out of consciousness as rescuers worked to free them. Giant air bags were inflated under the truck to lift it off the men, Daly said.

Neither man was wearing a seat belt, although occupants of military vehicles are exempt from California’s seat belt law, Daly said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the CHP’s San Juan Capistrano office at (714) 661-6215.

Times staff writer Greg Hernandez contributed to this story.