2 Injured in Wreck That Snarls Traffic for Hours

Two people were injured and thousands of rush-hour commuters were delayed Friday when a car traveling north on the Corona del Mar Freeway crossed the center divider and collided with two southbound vehicles.

The crash closed all southbound lanes of the freeway at MacArthur Boulevard for nearly two hours following the 4:50 p.m. wreck, according to the California Highway Patrol.

One of the injured was taken to a hospital by helicopter, but his condition was not known.

Officials said a teen-ager driving a luxury car went onto an embankment before crossing the center divider and colliding with the other vehicles.

The driver of one of the southbound vehicles had to be cut out of a pickup truck before he could be taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with cuts, broken bones and possible internal injuries, officials said.

The teen-age driver was taken to the same hospital with neck and back injuries, said Orange County Fire Department Capt. Philip W. Connolly. No one was injured in the second southbound vehicle.

There were no passengers in either the Mercedes or the pickup, authorities said.

The crash closed the southbound lanes of the freeway from MacArthur to Jamboree Road and backed up traffic for miles.

Units from Orange County and Costa Mesa fire departments and the Newport Beach Police Department assisted the CHP. Authorities would not release the names of the injured motorists.