Coroner’s officials Saturday released the name of a 25-year-old woman who was killed in a chain-reaction crash on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in Irvine that also injured nine other people, including three children.
The victim, a motorist in the pileup near the Alton Parkway exit, was identified as Maria Osuna of National City, according to the Orange County Coroner’s Office.
Firefighters responded about 1:30 a.m. Thursday and found nine vehicles and multiple victims, which included children ages 11, 10 and six months, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito said.
Eight patients, including the three children, were taken to trauma centers, Bommarito said. A woman was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, he said. The six-month-old child was in the same vehicle as Osuna and the two other children were in a different vehicle, Bommarito said.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Irving Aguilar-Calixto, 22, was speeding in a Dodge Challenger going south on the 5 Freeway when he slammed into a Toyota Prius. The Challenger spun out and came to rest on the freeway, prompting another collision that involved the Challenger and four other vehicles, according to the CHP.
The driver of a Honda Civic swerved to avoid the pileup, coming to a stop next to the damaged Challenger, but moments later, the Honda was struck by a Mitsubishi Eclipse, driven by Osuna.
She survived the initial crash, but CHP officials said she apparently unbuckled her seatbelt to remove her infant son from the rear seat of the Eclipse, which was then struck from behind by a van, killing her and injuring the boy.
Aguilar-Calixto was arrested on suspicion of DUI.