2-car crash in Santa Ana kills elderly woman after vehicle bursts into flames
An elderly woman died after the car she was riding in collided with another vehicle and burst into flames in Santa Ana Friday night, Nov. 23, authorities said.
About 9:40 p.m., Santa Ana, Tustin and Irvine police officers responded to Red Hill Avenue and Dyer Road on a report of a traffic collision, Santa Ana police said.
Expand
An Irvine police officer was in the area of the crash and checked on everyone involved from both vehicles. The officer and nearby good Samaritans removed four occupants from one of the vehicles before it caught fire, police said.
The elderly female, identified by police as 75-year-old Deodula Omandum of Visalia, was pinned by the collision and died in the fire. She was pronounced dead at the scene after Orange County firefighters extinguished the flames.
The other four occupants of the vehicle, and the driver of the other involved vehicle, were taken to hospitals with moderate to major injuries, police said in a news release.
Investigators determined a red GMC pickup truck was headed south on Red Hill Avenue when it rear-ended a black Chevrolet Cruze sedan waiting at the red light. The collision caused the Chevrolet to traverse the entire intersection before coming to rest and bursting into flames.
The driver of the pickup truck was identified only as a 26-year-old man from San Jose. He remained on scene and was described in the release as “semi-cooperative.”
Cpl. Anthony Bertagna later told a reporter the GMC driver provided “the bare minimum,” giving short answers to police questions. They had to obtain a warrant to perform a blood test for a toxicology report, Bertagna said.
The driver remained hospitalized and had not been arrested as the department continued its investigation.
Alcohol or drugs may have played a part in the collision, police said in the release.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at 714-245-8200.