Mourning a Lost Life, Lost Dreams

Lisa Ross had shed 107 pounds over the last year and had big plans to start a family with her husband. But the Trabuco Canyon hairdresser’s dreams were dashed when her sport utility vehicle collided with a gravel truck at a darkened Lake Forest intersection.

On Tuesday, as friends and family gathered beside a makeshift memorial at the corner of Portola Parkway and Lake Forest Drive to remember the 34-year-old Ross, authorities said a power failure caused traffic and street lights to fail in the area and may have contributed to the crash at 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

It’s possible neither driver knew to stop, Orange County sheriff’s officials said.

But alcohol also may have been a factor. Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Doan said the woman behind the wheel of Ross’ Isuzu has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Sheriff’s Department officials were awaiting results of blood tests on the driver, who remained unconscious and in critical condition at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center. Doan declined to identify the woman, saying neither she nor her relatives were aware of her arrest.

Edison Co. regional manager Frank Wasko said they are trying to determine what caused the malfunction.

“A rodent could have entered the cables or moisture could have gotten into a component and caused the equipment to fail,” he said. “There’s a variety of things that could have caused it.”

Meanwhile, family and friends of Ross were grappling with their loss at a candlelight vigil at the accident site.

They remembered Lisa Ross as a woman with a quick wit and zest for life, a person who made friends easily.

“She would tell a total stranger, ‘I love your hair,’ or ‘I love your outfit,’ ” said friend Julie Eder.

Jeff Ross, her husband of eight years, said he was smitten the moment he met her.

“She was cutting my hair, and she was so bubbly,” he recalled. “She talked so much, I wasn’t sure what to think. She didn’t have an off switch.”

The couple enjoyed weekend jaunts to Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Big Bear, where they would pamper themselves with massages.

“She never took one minute for granted,” he said.

It was her desire to live life to the fullest that prompted a night on the town with friends Friday, her husband said.

He had gone to Palm Springs with her father earlier in the day to look at condominiums for sale.

Ross and her mother, who together owned a hair salon in Lake Forest, were to meet them the next day.

Friends said Ross and two companions went to Newport Beach. For the ride home, Ross handed over her keys to a companion.

She was asleep in the back seat when the SUV and the truck collided, authorities said.

The driver suffered a crushed pelvis and other internal injuries, while the other passenger suffered broken ribs, Eder said.

Paramedics told the family that Ross was probably killed instantly, said Jeff’s father, Gary Ross.

Now, Jeff is haunted by his last conversation with his wife.

“We talked Friday night, and she said she was going out with friends, and I told her to be careful,” Jeff said.

“Then she said, ‘Aren’t I always?’ And she told me she loved me.”