Irvine : Harvard Street Curve Is Scene of 2 Accidents

One man was killed and his passenger injured Wednesday when their car careened off Harvard Avenue at Main Street and hit a power pole, police said. It was the second car to crash into the pole in four days.

Nguyen Thai, 25, of Garden Grove, died at the scene of the 5:25 a.m. accident, police said. His passenger, Hien Phan, 27, of Irvine, was in guarded condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, a hospital spokesman said. Firefighters had to use a hydraulic cutting device to remove Phan from the car.

Traffic Sgt. Jim Broomfield said Phan told police that the car was his but that Thai was driving. Police said Thai, an inexperienced driver, had received his driver’s license in November.

“He was trying to tell him to slow down just before it happened,� Broomfield said. He said the road was dark and the car was traveling at 45 m.p.h. to 47 m.p.h. in the 25 m.p.h. zone.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, Craig Gerald Seabourn, 22, of Orange, also driving on Harvard Avenue, crashed his car into the pole. He was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and taken to Western Medical Center, where he was in stable condition Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

His passenger, Bradford Joel Blair, 24, also of Orange, had to be cut from the car. He was taken to Fountain Valley Community Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

“It’s kind of a coincidence,� Broomfield said Wednesday, “but the pole doesn’t seem to be a universal factor. The first accident (may have) involved the use of alcohol. Today, it was the lack of knowledge of the street.�