Irvine Collision Hurts 6 People; Driver, 20, Arrested in Incident

A 20-year-old Irvine man was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving Saturday night after his car collided with another vehicle at an intersection, hit a light pole and overturned, injuring six people, police said.

The arrested man, Collin Eckert, was driving a 1990 Honda sedan north on Yale Avenue with four passengers at about 10:30 p.m. when he entered the Bryan Avenue intersection and collided with another car, a 1993 Mazda sedan. It was driven by Mina Maghami, 40, also of Irvine with a 14-year-old boy passenger, Irvine police Sgt. Tom Hume said. Eckert’s car then left the roadway and hit a light pole and overturned, Hume said.

One of the drivers apparently ran a red light, although the police report did not indicate which one. Eckert was arrested because he was intoxicated, police said, but was no longer being held Sunday afternoon.

Three of the injured passengers were taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and two were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Among the injured were Eckert, Maghami, Jeffrey Parrish, 18, and Cameron Armendariz, 19 and two juveniles who were not identified because of their age. Parrish and Armendariz were riding in Eckert’s car, Hume said.

None of the injuries appeared to be life threatening, Hume said. All were from Irvine.