Driver Kills Man, Injures Second Changing Flat Tire

A 21-year-old Santa Ana man was killed Saturday and a second man injured when they were hit by a car as they changed a flat tire in a non-traffic transition area at the interchange of the Costa Mesa and Riverside freeways, police said.

The men apparently were working on the left front tire of their pickup truck when they were struck by a car driven by Lisa Freeman, 26, of Fullerton, a California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.

Freeman apparently tried to cut across the gore point, the painted area marking the beginning of the transition from the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway to the westbound Riverside Freeway, and did not notice the parked truck, CHP Officer Angel Johnson said.

The driver, who was taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital-Orange County in Anaheim where he later died, was lying partly under the pickup at the time of the accident, she said. His name was not released pending notification of relatives.

His passenger, Kevin Giordano, 21, of Costa Mesa, suffered moderate injuries after the force of the accident sent him flying about 30 feet through the air, Johnson said. Giordano and Freeman, who suffered minor injuries, were treated at Placentia Linda Community Hospital in Placentia and released, Johnson said.