Newport Beach: 3 Killed in Multiple-Vehicle Accident on PCH

At around 2:40 p.m. last Saturday, three people were killed and another critically injured in a multiple-vehicle accident on PCH in Newport Beach. The Los Angeles Times reported that 27-year-old Newport Beach resident Julie Allen was speeding on PCH in Newport Beach when her tan Ford Taurus swerved into opposing lanes of traffic, striking multiple vehicles, including a Toyota Prius, a white Taurus, a Nissan Titan pickup, a Toyota Tacoma pickup, and a motorcycle. The occupants of the Tacoma, 49-year-old Christopher De La Cruz, of Laguna Niguel, and 69-year-old Linda Burnett, of Santa Ana, were killed on impact. The motorcyclist was transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana in critical condition. Several other accident victims were treated for minor to moderate injuries at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. Allen, a former Stanford track star, also died in the crash. Pacific Coast Highway remained closed until early Sunday morning as authorities investigated the accident. Anyone with information about the accident has been asked to call investigators at 949-644-3747, explains an Orange County auto accident attorney. 

Nationwide, 33,808 people were killed and 2,217,000 injured in traffic accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2009 Traffic Safety Facts. The California Highway Patrol’s most recently posted accident statistics indicate that Newport Beach accounted for 6 of the 152 fatal and 439 of the 13,414 injury motor vehicle traffic collisions that occurred in 2008. According to NHTSA, California and Texas led the nation in speeding-related traffic fatalities in 2009, with 1,087 of the 10,591 deaths attributed to California and 1,228 to Texas. 

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the families of Christopher De La Cruz, Linda Burnett, and Julie Allen. We would also like to wish the individuals who were injured in the multiple-vehicle accident a full recovery.

Additional information, including articles and books on injury and wrongful death claims, is available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these resources, or to speak with an Orange County auto accident attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.