A 20-year-old Camp Pendleton man and a 21-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita woman were killed Saturday, and a 21-year-old Irvine woman was injured when their SUV went off the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in Downey and into a tree.
The crash on the southbound freeway, at the Paramount Boulevard offramp, occurred at 4:50 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Camp Pendleton man who was driving the 2002 Dodge Dakota and the Rancho Santa Margarita woman in the right-rear seat were pronounced dead at the scene, according to a CHP release. The driver was the only person in the SUV wearing a seat belt.
A public affairs officer at the Camp Pendleton Marine base could not confirm that a Marine had been killed in the crash. Civilians also live on the base, Sgt. Kevin Maynard said.
Paramedics rushed a woman to an area trauma center, according to Downey Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Devereux. She was the Irvine woman, according to the CHP.
“They (the victims) were pinned in their (SUV) pretty good,” Devereux said.
A SigAlert was issued at 5:25 a.m., closing the Paramount Boulevard offramp. The ramp was reopened at 9:33 a.m., the CHP said.
—City News Service