Laughing Gas Linked to Fatality

Two women suspected of inhaling laughing gas were involved in a fatal crash Thursday when their car veered across the Santa Ana Freeway, struck the center divider and burst into flames, authorities said.

The 22-year-old passenger, Laura L. McKannay of Flagstaff, Ariz., died at the scene of the 10:50 a.m. accident on the southbound side of the freeway near the Culver Drive exit, California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angel Johnson said.

The driver, Nina Rennie of Costa Mesa, also 22, was rescued from the burning car by an off-duty Santa Ana paramedic, an Orange County firefighter and two off-duty Laguna Beach police officers. She was taken to UCI Medical Center where she was in critical condition with burns over half of her body and multiple broken bones, authorities said.

The women had been seen inhaling gas through a balloon before the accident, Johnson said. A three-foot canister resembling a scuba tank was found in the car, but authorities still are investigating its contents.

“We do suspect it was DUI,” Johnson said. “You’re not supposed to take anything that affects your ability to drive or intoxicates you. It doesn’t have to be an illegal drug.”

There have been other crashes in Orange County involving drivers who inhaled nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, Johnson said. The gas can cause laughter and a sense of exhilaration.

“It’s looking like [a trend], mostly among young people,” Johnson said. “It appears easy to get.”

The two women were traveling about 55 mph in the far-right lane when they swerved diagonally across all lanes toward the center divider.

“They slid against the wall for about 60 feet and then the car was engulfed in flames,” Johnson said. “We’re not sure how the car caught on fire. We don’t know whether it caught on fire because of the gas inside the car or whether the fuel tank ruptured.”

Johnson said it was a “miracle” that no one else was injured because traffic was heavy.

Glen Dolin, a paramedic with the Santa Ana Fire Department, said he was traveling with his wife when they saw the car ablaze. The two off-duty Laguna Beach police officers, Vladimir Anderson and Bob Vangorder, were already prying open the doors of the car.

After a passing cement-truck driver sprayed water on the burning vehicle, Dolin went to the driver’s side and started pulling Rennie out.

“When they opened the door, she was still seat-belted,” Dolin said. “So I took the knife from one of the police officers standing there and cut her out.”

Capt. Rick Reeder of the Orange County Fire Authority arrived at the scene and helped the men get her out.

“I’m a firefighter and a paramedic, but I’ve never rescued anyone in my sandals before,” Dolin said. “It got a little scary after we got them out because we saw the gas cylinder. But what was really nice was that the cement mixer was cooling me off so I wouldn’t get burned.”

Dolin and his wife were on their way home from visiting their 1-year-old son, who has leukemia, at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange.

“We’d been at the hospital for four days and were running home to take showers and take a short break when this happened,” he said.