3 From O.C. Die in Crash in Arizona

A violent crash on a quiet road outside Flagstaff, Ariz., has killed three Orange County parents and left one boy an orphan.

“I’m sick,” Carolyn Bien said upon hearing that her next-door neighbor, Nikul Kapadia, had died. “I’m just sick.”

The crash occurred around noon Monday as Kapadia, 50, drove four other people--two adult friends and two children--down Meteor Crater Road about 35 miles east of Flagstaff after a morning spent sightseeing. They were en route to Houston, where they planned to spend the holidays with relatives.

Police believe that the group was eating lunch in the car when Kapadia, of Laguna Niguel, dropped something and tried to retrieve it. Instead, according to Mark Christian, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, he lost control of the vehicle and tried to swerve out of an oncoming lane, causing it to flip and roll one-and-a-half times.

Kapadia was killed instantly, as was Archana Mehta, 39, of Lake Forest. Mehta’s husband, Bharatesh, 41, was thrown from the vehicle and died from his injuries several hours later at the Flagstaff Medical Center.

The two younger passengers--Kapadia’s 16-year-old son, Neel, and the Mehtas’ 9-year-old son, Paris--survived with only minor injuries, for which they were treated and released to the care of relatives.

Orange County neighbors of both families described them as close-knit and loving.

“He was a wonderful neighbor and a really good person,” Bien said of Kapadia. “He was very quiet, very family-oriented, very friendly. I saw him on Saturday--Neel was looking forward to traveling with his dad.”

At the time of the accident, Kapadia’s wife, Peggy, was en route to India with the couple’s daughter, who is a student at UCLA. On Tuesday, both were reported to be on their way back to Laguna Niguel.

Neighbors of the Mehtas in Lake Forest expressed shock at the news of their deaths. “They were devoted, wonderful parents,” said Pamela Davies, who has lived next door to the family for more than seven years and was taking care of their house while they were away. “They were the kind of people that you wish there were more of in the world.”

On Tuesday, the future of the couple’s 9-year-old son appeared uncertain, as relatives from Texas made their way toward Orange County with the boy.

“You shouldn’t lose two parents at the same time, especially when you’re 9,” Davies said. “What’s going to happen to him? You just don’t know.”