Crashes Kill 3 From O.C.

In just 24 hours, three Orange County residents were killed in separate traffic accidents, officials reported Wednesday.

The first accident happened in Bellflower on Tuesday when Maria H. Cisneros, 31, of La Habra, apparently took off her seat belt moments before the car in which she was riding crashed, ejecting her, California Highway Patrol Officer Karen Faciane said.

Cisneros died at the scene.

Claudia Jimenez, 47, of La Habra, was driving the car, a 1995 BMW, in the westbound carpool lane of the 91 Freeway near Bellflower Avenue. The vehicle was traveling about 70 mph when the driver smelled smoke, Faciane said. A tire went flat, the officer said, causing Jimenez to lose control of the car, which hit the center divider, bounced off across several traffic lanes and went over an embankment.

“For some odd reason, she [Cisneros] started loosening the buckle on her seat belt,” Faciane said. “The car overturned. . . . As it was flipping, it threw her out and came right down on top of her.”

Jimenez and passengers George Jimenez, 26, and Javier Vazquez, 30, suffered minor injuries.

Driver Arrested

In the second incident, a man suspected of drunken driving crashed into a construction vehicle while traveling about 90 mph on the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway in Costa Mesa, dispatchers said. His passenger, 25-year-old J. Asuncio Lopez Anaye of Costa Mesa, died at the scene.

The driver, whose name was not released, survived the crash, which happened about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday near Paularino Avenue. He was later arrested at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Cell Phone a Factor?

A cellular telephone conversation may have contributed to the death of 61-year-old Terrance Crocker of Cypress early Wednesday, police said. Anaheim police traffic investigator Rich Alexander said Crocker was driving a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Sunkist Way from Lincoln Avenue about 50 mph when he hit two parked cars.

“The Jeep rolled over twice,” Alexander said. “The driver was not wearing a seat belt, and his head and upper torso came out the right front passenger window. The car slid for about 50 feet after the last roll.”

Alexander said a witness noticed the victim talking on the telephone moments before the crash.