Laguna Canyon : 2 Drivers Killed in Head-On Accident

Two people were killed Sunday in a high-speed, head-on collision on Laguna Canyon Road, California Highway Patrol officials said.

A 33-year-old Laguna Beach man was killed instantly in the crash, which occurred at 3:30 p.m. about 2 1/2 miles south of the San Diego Freeway in an unincorporated area just north of the Laguna Beach city limits. His name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

The driver of the second car, identified as Victoria L. Inman, 24, of Laguna Niguel, was taken by helicopter to Mission Community Hospital, where she died a short time later of massive injuries, a coroner’s spokesman said.

An investigation was pending, but a CHP spokesman said it appeared that the westbound male driver was in the opposing lane of traffic when his car collided with Inman’s. “It appears that neither party had time� to take any evasive action, the spokesman said.

Since 1975, more than 33 people have been killed and hundreds more injured on the narrow, 6 1/2-mile state highway that winds from Pacific Coast Highway through Laguna Canyon to the San Diego Freeway. It is considered among the most dangerous roads in the county, second only to the Ortega Highway near San Juan Capistrano.

In 1984, the grisly toll prompted officials to post signs urging drivers to turn on their headlights during daylight hours. The campaign has been credited with a noticeable reduction in serious accidents.