Solo crash on Pacific Coast Highway leaves 1 dead, 2 injured

A Whittier man died Sunday night following a crash that left two injured and closed all westbound lanes on Pacific Coast Highway for several hours as police investigated the accident.

Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Heather Rangel said the first reports of the incident came in just before 8 p.m. A Mercedes Benz had rear-ended a parked, unoccupied box truck in the 3300 block of West Coast Highway, between Hoag and Riverside drives.

Rangel said the Mercedes sustained significant damage and its three occupants — two males and one female — were severely injured. Paramedics declared Juan Francisco Hernandez, 29, dead at the scene of the collision. The car’s other two occupants were transported to Mission Hospital to be treated for unspecified injuries.

Police were still investigating the cause of the crash as of Monday.

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