Two drivers were killed in a fiery collision along PCH that was blamed on a suspected wrong-way driver. (LA County Sheriff's Department / July 16, 2010) |
MALIBU -- A speeding wrong-way driver may have intentionally caused a fiery, head-on crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu that left two people dead and one critically injured, according to sheriff's officials.
The crash was reported shortly before 1 a.m. Friday on PCH near Zumirez Drive.
A Saturn, traveling around 90 mph, southbound in the northbound lanes, collided head-on with a Ford Mustang and burst into flames, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators.
The Saturn driver, Jason Sorg, and Petty Officer Oscar Avila Mendoza, a 23-year-old Seabee driving the Mustang died on impact.
A second Seabee riding in the Mustang, Petty Officer Jesus Saenz, 24, was airlifted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with a broken left arm and leg and a concussion.
He was in stable condition, sheriffÂ’s Sgt. Philip Brooks said.
Both Seabees served in Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 based at Port Hueneme.
Saenz, an electrician with the Navy, was a passenger in his fellow SeabeeÂ’s vehicle.
Saenz had just returned from leave and his friend had come to pick him up at LAX.
Mendoza was a welder and steelworker on Navy construction projects and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, said Cmdr. Glenn W. Hubbard, leader of Battalion 40.
The battalion is only weeks away from deployment, Hubbard said, and the news hit the tight-knit group hard.
Mendoza was married with a baby on the way.
According to a preliminary investigation, the Saturn driver may have deliberately caused the crash, sheriff's Sgt. Philip Brooks told KTLA.
Witnesses also reported that shortly before the crash, the Saturn made a U-turn on the road and tried to hit them but they swerved to avoid impact, Brooks said.
The mother of the Saturn driver, who lives in Minnesota, said her son had recently moved to California to get into the entertainment industry and was struggling.
"She also related that his brother had died about 10 days prior to this, and that he was a heavy drinker and possibly drug user," said Sgt. Philip Brooks of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities await toxicology reports to determine if the driver of the Saturn was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The crash remains under investigation.
PCH was shut down for more than seven hours as a result of the crash.
The crash was reported shortly before 1 a.m. Friday on PCH near Zumirez Drive.
A Saturn, traveling around 90 mph, southbound in the northbound lanes, collided head-on with a Ford Mustang and burst into flames, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators.
The Saturn driver, Jason Sorg, and Petty Officer Oscar Avila Mendoza, a 23-year-old Seabee driving the Mustang died on impact.
A second Seabee riding in the Mustang, Petty Officer Jesus Saenz, 24, was airlifted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with a broken left arm and leg and a concussion.
He was in stable condition, sheriffÂ’s Sgt. Philip Brooks said.
Both Seabees served in Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 based at Port Hueneme.
Saenz, an electrician with the Navy, was a passenger in his fellow SeabeeÂ’s vehicle.
Saenz had just returned from leave and his friend had come to pick him up at LAX.
Mendoza was a welder and steelworker on Navy construction projects and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, said Cmdr. Glenn W. Hubbard, leader of Battalion 40.
The battalion is only weeks away from deployment, Hubbard said, and the news hit the tight-knit group hard.
Mendoza was married with a baby on the way.
According to a preliminary investigation, the Saturn driver may have deliberately caused the crash, sheriff's Sgt. Philip Brooks told KTLA.
Witnesses also reported that shortly before the crash, the Saturn made a U-turn on the road and tried to hit them but they swerved to avoid impact, Brooks said.
The mother of the Saturn driver, who lives in Minnesota, said her son had recently moved to California to get into the entertainment industry and was struggling.
"She also related that his brother had died about 10 days prior to this, and that he was a heavy drinker and possibly drug user," said Sgt. Philip Brooks of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities await toxicology reports to determine if the driver of the Saturn was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The crash remains under investigation.
PCH was shut down for more than seven hours as a result of the crash.
