Two-Van Crash Hurts 9 in Family, One Critically

Nine family members, five of them children, were injured Monday morning when the passenger van in which they were riding was broadsided by a utility van in downtown Santa Ana, police said.

One of the children, 6-month-old Adriana Benitez, remained in critical condition late Monday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with a fractured skull, police said.

The other eight family members were taken to area hospitals and treated for minor injuries; most were soon released.

In the van were Antonio Mena, 49; his wife, Guadalupe, 43; their two daughters; and five grandchildren, police said.

Police said the accident happened about 9 a.m. near the intersection of 1st and Lacy streets.

Neither driver was cited, though the investigation was continuing.

Estaban Hurtado, 28, of Garden Grove, the driver and lone occupant of the second vehicle, was uninjured, said Sgt. Baltazar De La Riva of the Santa Ana Police Department.

Hurtado, driving the utility van, was trying to make a left turn from 1st onto northbound Lacy when he collided with Mena’s van, traveling west on 1st.

“Several witnesses are giving conflicting statements,” De La Riva said.