3rd Victim of Multiple Crash on Santa Ana Freeway Dies

A Gardena woman who was one of several people struck by a car while looking at the wreckage of a crash on the Santa Ana Freeway died Monday, bringing the accident’s toll to three dead and five hurt.

Christina Macias, 27, died about 10:30 a.m. at UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she had been taken after a string of collisions early Sunday near the Ball Road off-ramp. Also dead as a result of the crashes were Elizabeth Newman, 35, of Dominguez Hills, and Patricia Ann Maglietto, 24, of Studio City.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the chain of events began shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday when the driver of a Mustang going about 100 m.p.h. rear-ended a Ford pickup truck driven by Alfredo Cortez, 51, of Bell.

The driver of the Mustang, Rafael Cruz, 27, of Santa Ana, tried to flee on foot, but was captured by police and arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and misdemeanor hit-and-run driving.

Shortly after that collision, a Honda Civic driven by Lori Kitagawa, 19, of La Palma slammed into the Mustang. The drivers of a Camaro and a Thunderbird then stopped to notify authorities about the crash.

Maglietto was in the Camaro with her boyfriend, Justin Sarver, 21, of North Hollywood. Newman and Macias were in the Thunderbird driven by Karen Counsell, 38, of Torrance, who called 911 on her car telephone.

Counsell, the passengers of her car along with Maglietto and Sarver next went into the highway’s center divider to look at the wreckage.

Moments later, Elisa Ortiz, 28, of Los Angeles, driving a Toyota off-road vehicle, struck them.

Maglietto was killed instantly. Newman suffered fatal injuries and died within hours at the hospital. Sarver and Macias were seriously injured.

Cortez, the driver of the Ford pickup, and Counsell were slightly hurt. Ortiz, who is pregnant, also received minor injuries although she was trapped in her vehicle and had to be removed by emergency crews. Police said she has not been cited pending further investigation.

Kitagawa, who was driving the Honda, was listed in good condition Monday evening at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. Sarver was listed in fair condition after surgery at the same hospital.

Cruz, who is being held in the county jail in connection with the crash, was treated for moderate injuries at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, a hospital spokeswoman said.