Woman, 32, Killed in Collision After Exiting Freeway : Death: Paige Salvatore of Orange had been honored repeatedly in recent years as the Times Orange County Edition’s top advertising salesperson. Second driver is bruised but otherwise uninjured.

A 32-year-old Orange woman died Wednesday after her 1991 Chrysler collided with another car as she exited the southbound San Diego Freeway at Jamboree Road, Irvine police said.

Paige Salvatore, who had been honored repeatedly in recent years as the Times Orange County Edition’s top advertising salesperson, was pronounced dead at UCI Medical Center about an hour after the 10:55 a.m. accident, Sgt. Brian Clifton said.

The other driver, Isolde Mein, 63, of Corona del Mar, suffered some bruises in the crash but was otherwise uninjured. Mein was driving a 1988 Mercedes and traveling southbound on Jamboree Road.

Police said the accident occurred as Salvatore made a left turn and was struck broadside on the driver’s side by the Mercedes.

“Common sense tells us that someone ran a red light. But no one has come forward to say who,” Clifton said. “There have been no witnesses at all yet.”

CHP Officer Ron Davenport said the on- and off-ramps at southbound Jamboree Road were closed for about two hours after the accident, causing a minor traffic snarl.

Salvatore is survived by her husband, Ray, a chiropractor, and their 3-year-old daughter, Brianna.

Prior to joining The Times in 1987, she worked for three years for the Orange County Register. She attended Fullerton High School and received a bachelor’s degree in communications at Cal State Fullerton.

Salvatore was one of the top sales representatives at the Times Orange County Edition for most of the years she worked at the paper, said Gerald O’Donnell, retail sales manager and Salvatore’s immediate boss.

Salvatore handled one of the largest revenue territories in Orange County, including South Coast Plaza. She had a reputation for developing friendships with her clients and always being available to them, O’Donnell said.

“She was always very bubbly and energetic,” he said. “She’s not the type of person you could forget.”

Her death means much more than the loss of a great employee, said Judy Sweeney, president of the Times Orange County Edition. Sweeney said she occasionally socialized with Salvatore and her husband, Ray, and considered Salvatore “a very dear friend.”

“Paige was just very real,” Sweeney said. “She was incredibly positive, enthusiastic. She was full of life. She cared about people in a genuine way. . . . It’s just tragic. It teaches us all the importance of living one day at a time.”

Salvatore and her husband were avid horse-racing fans and Salvatore also enjoyed running and going for walks with her daughter. “Being a mother was probably one of Paige’s great joys,” Sweeney said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Irvine police are asking that any witnesses to accident call Senior Officer Douglas Jordan Coffing at (714) 724-7024.