Motorist Killed in Crash Apparently Had Heart Attack
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COSTA MESA — A 54-year-old man died after apparently suffering a heart attack behind the steering wheel of his car before crashing into a tree, police said Wednesday.
Three witnesses said Tony Villa Estrada of Garden Grove appeared unconscious and “slumped over” in his car about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, when the vehicle careened from the westbound lane of South Coast Drive over a center divider to the southbound lane of Fairview Road.
The vehicle then traveled up the curb and smashed into a tree, said Fidel Gamboa, Costa Mesa police’s community service officer. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, Gamboa said.
Estrada, a security guard, died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. He was living alone at the Fire Station Motel, where neighbors remembered him as a “very happy person” who often talked about winning the Lotto someday.
“We’re all shocked,” motel manager Debbie Wadlow said. “We’re going to miss him. He was very well-liked.”
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