Crash Into Trailer Kills Anaheim Man

A 51-year-old Anaheim man died after his van struck a trailer that had come unhitched from another vehicle, California Highway Patrol officials said Tuesday.

Crescenciano Sanchez Jimenez was driving west on the Riverside Freeway and approaching the Santa Ana Freeway over-crossing about 5 a.m. Monday when his van crashed into the trailer, CHP Officer Denise Medina said.

Firefighters removed him from the van and airlifted him to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died about five hours later.

The accident occurred after a 1988 Chevrolet pickup lost the equipment trailer it was towing, investigators said. The hitch and safety latch both failed and the trailer drifted across three lanes into the center divider.

Sanchez apparently did not see the trailer, which was protruding into the fast lane, Medina said.