Pileup Ends With 1 in Hospital, 2 Arrested
A chain-reaction accident involving a big rig and four cars closed the Orange Freeway for four hours early Friday, resulting in two arrests, a critically injured motorist and a traffic snarl that lingered through the morning rush hour.
Police said the pileup started at 12:49 a.m. when a black 2000 Honda CRV driven by Claudia Alejandra Richarte, 21, of Yorba Linda sideswiped the truck, which jackknifed and came to rest across four lanes of the southbound freeway south of Orangethorpe Avenue in Placentia.
A 1989 Honda Accord driven by Larry Joe Burton, 50, of Rancho Cucamonga then hit the big rig, said Officer JoAnn O’Hair, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.
The Accord was hit by a 1996 Honda Civic driven by Jorge Valdez, 27, of Santa Ana, O’Hair said, and the Civic was then struck by a blue 1995 Honda Accord driven by Mauricio J. Henao, 19, of Placentia.
Burton was trapped in his car and had to be removed by rescue personnel. He was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was in critical condition with broken bones and internal injuries.
Richarte and Valdez were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, O’Hair said.
The big rig’s driver, Armando Gamino Valle, 33, of Los Angeles, was not injured, authorities said.
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