3 Accidents Leave 2 Dead and 4 Injured

Two people died and four were hurt in a series of Thanksgiving Day traffic accidents across Orange County.

In the first of three accidents, a 26-year-old Anaheim man was killed early Thursday when he tried to exit the freeway near Santa Ana while driving too fast, authorities said.

Samuel Gatonye lost control of his 1992 Volkswagen after trying to exit at Lincoln Avenue from the southbound Orange Freeway, Supervising Deputy Coroner Joseph Luckey said.

“He was exiting the offramp at full speed,” Luckey said. “The car rolled over several times.”

The car rolled end over end and side to side, stopping on the westbound Lincoln onramp to the freeway. The passenger door was ripped off and Gatonye was thrown from the car despite wearing a seat belt, according to the California Highway Patrol.

There were no apparent witnesses, but another driver spotted the wreck shortly after 1:30 a.m. Gatonye was declared dead at the scene, Luckey said.

The second fatal accident occurred Thursday evening after a two-car collision in Santa Ana.

A woman, whose name was not immediately available, was hurt in the accident near South Raitt Street and West Edinger Avenue about 6:40 p.m., Santa Ana Police Lt. Jose Garcia said. Described as a passenger in one of the cars, she was later pronounced dead at Coastal Communities Hospital in Santa Ana, Garcia said. By late Thursday, investigators had not yet determined the cause of the accident.

In the third accident, four victims were taken to area hospitals after their car plowed through a guardrail and down an embankment on the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway at MacArthur Boulevard about 6:30 p.m.

A 13-year-old boy remained in critical condition Thursday night at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, along with a woman listed in stable condition. A man and a 9-year-old boy were listed in good condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange, according to nursing supervisors. Names of the injured weren’t immediately available.

Three of the victims were thrown from the vehicle, while the 13-year-old boy was found in the car with abdominal trauma. Caltrans crews worked into the night Thursday welding the damaged guardrail.