Collisions Claim 3 Lives; 5 Injured : 2 Die in Head-on Crash; Freeway Accident Kills Marine

Three people were killed and five injured in two traffic accidents in Orange County late Friday and early Saturday, authorities reported.

In the first accident at 10:50 p.m. Friday in Brea, a 35-year-old Chino man and a 17-year-old Fullerton boy were killed when their cars collided head-on. Four other teen-age passengers in the youth’s car were injured, Brea Police Lt. Cliff Trimble said.

The accident occurred when the Chino man’s car, which was traveling east on Carbon Canyon Road 1.3 miles east of Olinda Drive, veered into the opposing lane and collided with a car driven by Martin Haag, who died instantly, Trimble said.

The man, whose identification was not released pending notification of his relatives, died a short time later at Placentia Linda Hospital, Trimble said.

Two passengers in Haag’s car were taken by helicopter to Chino Community Hospital with multiple injuries. Erika Clark, 15, of Placentia was listed in fair condition Saturday by hospital officials. Randall Ashley, 15, of Yorba Linda, was listed in stable condition after being transferred to Placentia Linda Hospital.

Trimble said the other two passengers, both 14-year-olds from Placentia, were also hurt in the accident. Susan Nava was taken to Brea Community Hospital and transferred to Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, where she was listed in stable condition. Pamela Vasquez was in critical condition in the intensive care unit of Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

The police spokesman said an autopsy was pending for the Chino man killed in the crash to determine if he had been drinking before the accident.

The third fatality occurred at 1:55 a.m. when a 21-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton was killed as his car veered off the Orange Freeway and rolled down an incline in Anaheim, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

CHP Officer Rick Crow said Samuel Thomas Taber was driving south near Ball Road when the car ran off the road. Taber was hurled from the car and landed on the other side of a 9-foot concrete wall. He died instantly.

Another Marine riding in Taber’s car, Daniel Leroy Kobeck, 22, received minor injuries and was treated by paramedics at the scene, Crow said. He said the two Marines were from out of state and he did not know their hometowns.