Driver Trying to Avoid Car Hits Oncoming Van
An 18-year-old Huntington Beach man was critically injured Monday after he lost control of his car and crossed into the path of an oncoming van, Costa Mesa police said.
Troy Allen Soto was headed east on Adams Avenue about 8:30 a.m. in his 1984 Honda Accord near Albatross Drive, police said. Witnesses told police a car turned right onto Adams in front of Soto, who swerved around the car.
Soto hit the south curb of Adams, then veered across the center divider into the oncoming lanes where he collided with a 1991 Dodge van, police said. The impact sent the van careening onto the sidewalk and into a fence.
Soto was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with head injuries, police said. He remained in critical condition Monday night, a nursing supervisor said.
The driver of the van was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian with minor injuries. Three youths in the van also suffered minor injuries, police said.
The collision closed Adams until about 2:30 p.m., police said. The crash remains under investigation.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
