Motorist Crashes While Dialing, Dies, Police Say

A driver apparently dialing his cell phone was killed Friday when his Mustang convertible ran a red light and crashed into the back of a pickup truck in Mission Viejo, authorities said.

Police found a hand-held cell phone on the driver’s side floorboard of the wrecked Mustang.

A number was in the display field, but the send button had not been pushed, investigators said.

“It was a horrific crash,” said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “The Mustang was demolished and the rear axle of the pickup was completely torn out.”

Government and academic studies indicate that as many as 600 people die every year across the country in traffic accidents related to the use of hand-held cellular telephones.

Thousands more are injured, prompting many states to consider outlawing the use of hand-held devices while driving. Last month, New York became the first state to adopt such a ban.

Authorities identified the victim in Friday’s crash as Alexander Abaoag, 43, a respiratory therapist from Mission Viejo, who was driving home from his job at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Amormino said the driver of the Ford pickup was an 18-year-old construction worker from Ontario. He was not hurt.

The crash occurred about 6:10 a.m. in the intersection of Muirlands and Los Alisos boulevards. Witnesses told sheriff’s deputies that a blue 2000 Mustang ran a red light while eastbound on Los Alisos.

The truck, traveling south on Muirlands, was struck with such force it spun several times.

Debris, including the rear axle of the truck, scattered over 75 yards.

“It appears that the driver of the Mustang was dialing his cell phone just before the crash,” Amormino said.

“It is a possibility we are definitely looking at. It may very well have been a contributing factor in the accident.”

In California, a pending bill would allow drivers to use cell phones in traffic only in an emergency or with the use of a headset or hands-free phone.

The measure, sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), is before the Assembly transportation committee, which may take action on the legislation early next year.

“How many more deaths like this does it take before people do something,” Simitian asked Friday.

“Almost two dozen studies show there is a danger, and we have the experience of 20 countries in Europe and Asia. We know there is an inherent risk in using a cellular telephone while you drive.”

If passed, Simitian’s bill would impose a $20 fine for the first offense and a $50 fine for the second as well as subsequent violations.

The law, which is strongly opposed by most cell phone companies, would take effect in 2005.