Freak car accident traps man, 84, under vehicle
A routine paramedic call turned into a critical emergency in Laguna Woods on Sunday when an out-of-control car hit an 84-year-old man who was being treated for a fall.
The man, who was not identified by authorities, was using a walker and fell near the intersection of El Toro Road and Calle Sonora.
While he was being treated for minor injuries by a firefighter, a BMW northbound on Calle Sonora plowed into a Toyota Corolla that was westbound on El Toro Road, authorities said. The Corolla careened out of control and hit the man.
“The front wheels came up off the ground and the car landed on top of him. . . . He had to be extricated from under the car,” said Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion. “It was a real freak accident.”
The victim suffered burns from the hot exhaust of the car, asphalt abrasions and broken bones. He was taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he was in critical condition Sunday evening.
The firefighter, who was also not identified, saw the car coming toward him and “instinctively jumped up in the air and landed onto the hood,” Concepcion said. “He got lucky.”
One of the drivers was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The other driver declined treatment for minor injuries, Concepcion said.
The 2:45 p.m. crash snarled traffic for hours at the busy intersection outside the Leisure World retirement community.
Neither driver was cited, but the accident remains under investigation, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Dwyer.
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