CHP Still Seeking Driver Who Caused Fatal Crash

California Highway Patrol officials made a plea to the public Monday for information that could lead to the arrest of a speeding driver whose car clipped a Bronco on the Santa Ana Freeway in Irvine on Saturday, killing two people.

“We’re asking anybody who might know anything to just call,” CHP spokeswoman Angel Johnson said. “We’re getting a lot of phone calls, but nothing is panning out yet. The passenger and the driver really didn’t see anything. It just happened so quick. We’re really going to need the public’s help on this.”

The fatal accident occurred about 7:40 p.m. Saturday as the drivers of two cars raced in the southbound lanes just south of Alton Parkway. A dark blue Mercury Capri hatchback, believed to be an early 1980s model, sideswiped the Ford Bronco at about 75 m.p.h. while trying to keep pace with a black 1994 Honda Civic speeding in the fast lane, officials said.

The Bronco lost control and rolled, killing 19-year-old Jennifer Twohy and 21-year-old William Baughn, both of Placentia.

The Bronco full of childhood friends from Placentia was headed for dance clubs in Tijuana at the time of the accident.

Two passengers in the Bronco sustained minor injuries and two others--Paul Janicki, 21, and Daniel McDonald, 21--were taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo with serious injuries. Both remained in intensive care late Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The drivers of both speeding vehicles kept going after the accident. Monday, CHP officials released photos of the victims killed in the crash, hoping they would prompt the public to help find the hit-and-run driver.

“Maybe it’ll generate something, at least a guilty conscience,” Johnson said. “He may not even know that there was an accident.”

Johnson said she hopes the tragedy will discourage racing on the freeway.

Anyone with information about the accident should call the CHP at (714) 567-7187.