Man Dies in Freeway Crash; Occupants of Van Flee Scene

A 63-year-old Anaheim man was killed Wednesday in a collision on the Santa Ana Freeway that created a two-hour traffic jam.

Fred Lee Schlosser died at the scene after his car collided with a van, spun away and was broadsided by a red pickup truck, Officer Angel Johnson of the California Highway Patrol said.

The accident blocked the carpool lane and two left lanes on the southbound section of the freeway just south of 1st Street in Santa Ana for several hours, Johnson said. The traffic snarl extended north to Broadway and was aggravated by a morning drizzle.

“It appears the weather was not really a factor in the accident, but it likely made the drive worse” for morning commuters, Johnson said.

Investigators are trying to piece together the cause of the 6 a.m. accident and are seeking the man and woman who fled the scene on foot shortly after their van was involved in the collision, Johnson said.

The pair, described only as a Latino couple in their 30s or 40s, abandoned their tan 1976 Ford Econoline in the carpool lane, Johnson said.

The driver of the pickup truck, Kenneth Victor Sorensen, 50 of Glendale, told authorities that he ran to the van after the accident to check on the driver and passenger, who weren’t injured. Sorensen then checked on Schlosser and looked up to realize that the van’s occupants were gone, Johnson said.

Authorities are asking drivers who may have seen the accident or anyone who has information about the van’s occupants to call the California Highway Patrol at (714) 223-5454.

“We really need to talk to these people,” Johnson said. “We don’t think they did anything wrong to cause the accident, but we do need to hear from them.”