3 people killed in solo-vehicle crash on Coast Highway in Newport Beach identified

Newport Beach police are investigating a solo-vehicle crash that occurred on a stretch of the Coast Highway early Thursday morning, killing three people and causing three construction workers to be hospitalized.

The incident took place at 12:45 a.m. on the 3000 block of West Coast Highway, according to a release issued Thursday morning by the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers responded to multiple 911 calls regarding a single-vehicle collision.

Police reported the vehicle, described as a black 2022 Tesla Model S, had been reportedly driving eastbound when it struck a curb and collided with construction equipment on the south side of the road, according to the release.

Officers arriving to the scene discovered three deceased people inside the vehicle. The Orange County coroner’s office has identified the individuals as Wayne Walter Swanson Jr, 40, of Newport Beach, 34-year-old Crystal McCallum, of Texas, and Andrew James Chaves, 32, of Arizona.

Three construction workers who’d been at the site at the time of the collision were transported to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for minor, non-life-threatening injuries, police reported.

Police said the incident was being handled by the department’s Major Accident Investigation Team. Both eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway, between Riverside and Superior avenues, remained closed for several hours to accommodate the investigation but were reopened shortly before noon.

Anyone who might have information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Newport Beach police traffic investigator Austin Laverty at alaverty@nbpd.org.

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