Boy, 6, Dies in Crash; Mom Jailed

A woman whose 6-year-old son was killed when their car crashed on the San Joaquin Hills toll road in Newport Beach was booked Wednesday on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol officers said Julie Ann Smith, 46, of Costa Mesa lost control of her car Tuesday night as she tried to pass traffic on the right shoulder, striking a guardrail.

Her son Trevor was flung out of the Lexus LS400 and was killed instantly. The CHP said the car was traveling 90 mph when it crashed.

CHP Officer Jennifer Hink said witnesses reported that Smith was driving erratically in the northbound lanes shortly after 9 p.m. before she struck the guardrail near the Jamboree Road exit.

The boy, who was wearing a seat belt, was ejected as the car spun repeatedly.

By the time the car came to rest, it had been sheared in half, Hink said

Smith was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries. Results of a blood test to determine her blood-alcohol content were pending Wednesday.

Trevor’s death was the second in Orange County this week in which a child was killed when thrown from a car.

On Monday, a 12-year-old girl died when she was thrown from an SUV after a blowout caused her mother to crash on the Riverside Freeway in Anaheim.

Authorities said the girl was not wearing a seat belt.