1 Killed, 1 Seriously Injured in Road Duel

A morning commute turned deadly Wednesday when a motorist who had repeatedly cut off another driver spun out of control, was struck by a Fire Department pickup truck and plunged 30 feet down a dirt embankment.

The driver, David Keeton, 29, of Trabuco Hills, suffered fatal head injuries in the early morning collision in an unincorporated part of Orange County, according to authorities.

The driver of the Orange County Fire Authority vehicle, Tony Pierce, 27, was seriously injured and underwent emergency surgery Wednesday to reattach his nose.

Jennifer Hasselbrink, 23, of Trabuco Hills, who tried unsuccessfully to pass Keeton on Santiago Canyon Road about 7:30 a.m., escaped with minor injuries.

Keeton and Hasselbrink, while from the same community, apparently did not know each other, said Officer Angel Johnson of the California Highway Patrol. Johnson did not know why Keeton refused to let Hasselbrink pass.

“She had no idea what was going on,” Johnson said. “He would just not let her pass. Every time she switched lanes, he would cut her off.”

Finally, the left front of Hasselbrink’s Dodge Intrepid struck the right rear of Keeton’s Ford Thunderbird on the northbound side of the roadway, Johnson said. The bump caused Keeton’s car to spin into the southbound lane, where Pierce’s pickup truck slammed into the twirling Thunderbird, she said.

The collision sent Keeton’s car flying down the embankment and threw him into the back seat, where he died instantly, Johnson said. Keeton was wearing only his automatic shoulder harness, she added.

“Without the lap belt, the seat belt just doesn’t help you,” Johnson said.

The impact of the collision slammed Pierce’s face into the truck’s steering column, knocking out teeth and severely injuring his nose. He also suffered abdominal bleeding, Johnson said. Pierce, an Orange resident and civilian employee with the Orange County Fire Authority, was making a supply delivery before the accident. Pierce was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was listed in stable condition after surgery, authorities said.

The accident snarled traffic on southbound Santiago Canyon Road for nearly two hours, and for half an hour on the northbound side, authorities said.