Mission Viejo : Man Killed as Vehicle Overturns at School
- Share via
A 20-year-old man was killed early Tuesday, and the teen-age driver of a vehicle that overturned on a Mission Viejo school ground was booked on charges of manslaughter and felony drunk driving, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.
Officer Ken Daily said the victim was identified as David Michael Besse of Mission Viejo, who was trapped under the four-wheel-drive vehicle and died at the scene.
The 17-year-old driver, whose name was withheld because of his age, and three other passengers, including the dead man’s sister, escaped injury.
Daily said the driver had been “spinning doughnuts”--skidding in circles--on the damp grass of the playing field at Fred Newhart Elementary School, La Paz Road and Marguerite Parkway about 1 a.m. Tuesday. When the driver attempted to leave the field by negotiating an embankment, the Ford Bronco overturned.
An off-duty Anaheim fireman, Bob Greathead, who lives nearby, freed the victim and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the man was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
