Drag Racer Hits Van, Killing 2 Men Inside

Two men died late Monday when a drag racer struck their minivan, bringing to five the number of deaths blamed on drag racing in Orange County in recent months.

The men were turning left on a Dana Point street when one of two Mustangs in a race smashed into them. The van was pushed 120 feet then burst into flames so intense that rescuers were driven back.

Since August, two other people in Orange County have been struck and killed by drag racers. A third person, a 16-year-old Dana Hills High School student, was killed when he slammed his new sports car into a tree during a race.

Drag racing has long been a rite of passage for teenagers, celebrated in movies such as “Rebel Without a Cause” and “American Graffiti.” Police said the summer hit movie “The Fast and the Furious,” about drag racers in Los Angeles, appears to have boosted its popularity again.

“It’s been a consistent problem in Southern California,” said Placentia Police Sgt. Eric Pointe, whose department recently set up a special enforcement unit that cracked down on racers hanging out at a shopping center at Rose Drive and Imperial Highway.

In Santa Ana, police said they receive regular complaints from business owners about the roaring motors and screeching tires of racers in the city’s southwest commercial district. Santa Ana has recorded two major drag racing accidents this year, including one in August in which a father and his young daughter were killed when a racer barreled into their car.

On Monday, the two Ford Mustangs were drag racing down Del Obispo Street when one of them hit the minivan, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The driver of one of the Mustangs, 18-year-old Erin Gormley, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and vehicular manslaughter. The driver of the second car is still at large.

The two men in the van were described as in their mid-40s from San Clemente, but their names were not released.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Doan said that the drivers of the two Mustangs may not have known each other and that the race was spontaneous.

The accident occurred a few miles from the intersection where 16-year-old Steven Katzenberger was killed during a race in September. Katzenberger had just left his job at a local movie theater when he began drag racing with a friend along Camino del Avion in Laguna Niguel. He lost control of his new Mitsubishi Eclipse and hit a tree.

Several police departments launched programs over the summer to reduce street racing and said their efforts appear to be paying off.

During the summer, Irvine police arrested more than two dozen teens and impounded 15 cars on Fridays and Saturdays each week, keeping the vehicles for several months.

“When you lose your wheels, it hurts,” said Irvine Police Sgt. Denny Jenner. “They’re teens, and not having a car for that long and having to pay the storage fees will make them think twice about racing.”

Tustin police said they have arrested some spectators as well on misdemeanor charges of aiding and abetting the speed contests. They could be jailed for up to six months and fined $1,000.