Seal Beach Car Crash Leaves 2 Dead, 1 Hurt

Two men in a 1997 Mustang convertible died Monday after the driver crossed six lanes on the San Diego Freeway in Seal Beach and crashed into the center divider, causing two other cars to smash into the Mustang.

Jimmie L. Sarver, 39, and his 36-year-old passenger, Jerry Atkins, both of Bellflower, died at the scene.

Paramedics transported Allen Kunski, a 50-year-old resident of Laguna Niguel who suffered minor injuries, to the Los Alamitos Medical Center.

The accident took place about 12:30 a.m. on the northbound San Diego Freeway, between the Seal Beach and East 7th Street ramps. It forced closure of most lanes until 6 a.m.

Sarver apparently lost control of his Mustang, California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe said. The car lights shut off when the vehicle hit the center divider, authorities said.

The Mustang was then hit by a 1990 Isuzu Trooper driven by Michael Erickson, a 40-year-old Garden Grove resident, CHP officers said. That crash turned the Mustang so it was facing traffic in the fast and carpool lanes.

Erickson drove his vehicle to the right-hand shoulder. He was not hurt.

Kunski, the driver of a Mercedes-Benz, suffered injuries after also hitting the Mustang, officers said.

The impact of the crash with the Mercedes ejected Atkins from the Mustang. The coroner’s office said he bled to death from a chest wound, and Sarver died from multiple internal injuries.

Neither of the men in the Mustang were wearing seat belts. The coroner is investigating whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.