3 Killed in Head-On Crash on Toll Road
Three people were killed on the San Joaquin Hills toll road Wednesday when a northbound car crossed the median and collided head-on with an oncoming car, police said.
A woman and child in the southbound car died at the scene, as did the driver of the other car, said Scott Brown, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority. A man in the car with the woman and child was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo in critical condition, Brown said.
Identities of the victims were not released pending notification of their relatives.
“We don’t know what happened,” Brown said of the accident, which happened about 6:30 p.m. just north of Greenfield Drive in Laguna Niguel. The grassy median at the point is about 75 feet wide, police said.
The southbound lanes were closed several hours for the investigation, said Mark Reeves, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.
The 15-mile toll road, which opened three years ago, has been the scene of several accidents. Last year, the state agreed to spend $2 million to improve safety on the road by giving it a grainier surface after a rash of rain-related accidents.
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