Laguna Woods Man Dies Of Injuries From 2-Car Crash That Also Killed Mission Viejo Mom
LAGUNA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — An 86-year-old Laguna Woods man has died of injuries he suffered in a two-vehicle crash that also killed a 31-year-old woman and injured her two children, police said Monday.
Manuel Mercado, who was hospitalized in grave condition, was pronounced dead at 5:42 p.m. Sunday, Laguna Beach police Sgt. George Ramos said.
The crash at El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads happened at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Laguna Beach police Capt. Jason Kravetz said.
The woman, identified by the coroner's office as Sandra Maldonado of Mission Viejo, was riding in a vehicle with her children, ages 5 and 8, that was going north on El Toro Road, when it appears her vehicle and a Honda Pilot traveling in the opposite direction sideswiped one another, Kravetz said.
Maldonado was rushed to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Orange, where she died from her injuries.
Her children were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, but they did not appear to be seriously hurt, the captain said.
"Alcohol doesn't appear to be a factor. We're still trying to determine which of the two vehicles veered out of their own traffic lanes," Kravetz said.
Maldonado's car spun around and the Honda rolled off the road into some bushes, where it came to rest on its wheels, he said.
The wife of the Honda driver, who was the other occupant in the SUV, was not injured.
To donate the Maldonado family, make a check out to the Laguna Beach Police Employees' Association and write "Maldonado Family" on the memo line.
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