Woman Dies After Vehicle Plunges Off I-5 Overpass
IRVINE — A Lake Forest woman died Tuesday afternoon after her sport-utility vehicle plunged from a highway overpass and crashed onto Interstate 5 at the El Toro Y, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Vickie Nguyen, 28, was headed north on Interstate 5 in her Nissan Pathfinder when she exited to get on the San Diego Freeway about 3 p.m., CHP Officer Bruce Mauldin said.
On the overpass that crosses above Interstate 5, Nguyen’s Pathfinder veered to the left for an unknown reason, crossing all three lanes and hitting the left wall, Mauldin said. It bounced to the right, recrossed the lanes, hit and then went over the guardrail, he said.
The Pathfinder landed on the median divider of Interstate 5, about 40 feet below, and Nguyen was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, Mauldin said. She died there at 3:58 p.m.
The carpool and No. 1 lanes of northbound Interstate 5 were closed for 1 1/2 hours, Mauldin said.
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