Traffic Accidents Take Two Lives on Christmas Eve

Two people were killed in automobile-related accidents on Christmas Eve in separate parts of Orange County, authorities said Sunday.

In the first incident, a pedestrian was killed at 6:10 p.m. when a suspected drunk driver careened through a Huntington Beach intersection at an estimated 80 m.p.h., said a Huntington Beach Police Department spokesman.

Salvador Garcia-Adame, 22, of Huntington Beach was walking in an unmarked crosswalk on Ellis Avenue at Delaware Street when he was hit by a car driven by Paul J. Gronley of Huntington Beach and thrown about 200 feet, said Sgt. Ed Deuel. Garcia-Adame was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses said Gronley, 41, ran a stop sign, according to Deuel. He was arrested at the scene on suspicion of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter and his bail was set at $50,000, Deuel said.

About 11 p.m. in Dana Point, a Redlands woman was killed when her car veered off the road and hit a light pole, said a deputy county coroner.

Patricia Benson, 54, was alone in her car when it left the road at the intersection of Stonehill Drive and Niguel Road and hit the pole, said Christy Wurster, deputy coroner.

Benson had been visiting her son in the Dana Point area, Wurster said.

Wurster said there were no witnesses to the accident and it was not known if Benson was wearing a seat belt.