4 Killed, 5 Hurt in Crash Near San Bernardino

Four people were killed and five others were seriously injured in wrong-way crash near Running Springs early New Year’s morning.

Both drivers were killed when one of them veered into oncoming traffic on California 18 about 15 miles north of San Bernardino, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Marc Mead said. At least one of the cars, Mead said, was returning from a party “and indications were that both vehicles were traveling about 55 to 60 miles per hour.”

Empty beer cans were found in both cars, Mead said. However, survivors said that Anita Miranda, 19, had not been drinking and was driving on the correct side of the winding road when the accident occurred at 1:30 a.m., according to Mead.

Although Miranda was wearing a seat belt, her passengers were not, and they were tightly packed in the rear of the car. The other fatalities in her car were Christine Hinojosa, 20, of Dublin, and a 23-year-old man from Redwood City whose name was not released.

The driver of the other vehicle, William Dugan, 18, of Crestline, was not wearing a seat belt.