Baja Car Crash Kills 1, Injures 2 Californians

A weekend reunion in Baja California for three former Santa Ana high school buddies turned to tragedy after a car accident killed one and injured the others.

The single-car accident occurred Saturday in Rosarito Beach, said Tijuana police spokesman Raul Gonsalez. Both survivors said they weren’t to blame for the accident because the Jeep Cherokee was being driven by Keith Takabayashi, 31, of Santa Ana, who died in the crash.

But Gonsalez said “everyone remains in question” until Mexican authorities complete their investigation.

On Sunday, one of the passengers--Barry Patrick Walshe, 31, of Newport Beach--was in a Tijuana hospital by order of authorities. In a phone interview, Walshe said the three occupants of the car went to the same high school in Santa Ana.

Walshe said he didn’t know what caused the accident, but it appeared that he was the only one who was wearing a seat belt because the other men were ejected.

The other passenger--Kevin Lewand, a 30-year-old San Francisco biologist--was seriously injured in the crash. He was allowed to cross the border Saturday when he posted bail of nearly $11,000 in cash, family members said.

“It was almost 22 hours before we could get him back into the States,” said Jeannie Lewand, his mother.