Crash Halts 405 Traffic; 2 Teens Hurt

Two Garden Grove teenagers in a speeding Acura Legend were injured Saturday afternoon--one critically--after the driver lost control of the car and swerved across four lanes of traffic while traveling south on the San Diego Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident halted southbound traffic for about 2 1/2 hours at the Harbor Boulevard exit in Costa Mesa. It occurred when the driver of the car, traveling at an estimated 95 mph, attempted to change lanes, police said.

To avoid hitting a car ahead of him, the driver swerved. His car crossed four lanes of traffic, bounced against the concrete center divider, swerved back across the four lanes, flipped over and rolled down a dirt embankment until it hit a tree, a CHP dispatcher said.

Police withheld the names of the injured youths pending notification of their families. The passenger, who was partially ejected from the car, was on life support at UCI Medical Center in Orange late Saturday, the CHP said.

The driver was trapped in the car and had to be extricated by firefighters but suffered only minor injuries and was transported by helicopter to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.