Driver in Fatal Crash Allegedly Ran 3 Lights

The driver of a van that allegedly sped through three red lights near Tustin before broadsiding a car and killing two people inside was booked Monday for alleged vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving, authorities said.

It was one of two fatal traffic accidents that left four people dead Sunday night in Orange County.

The driver, who identified himself as Jesus Torres, 19, of Santa Ana, was treated for minor injuries at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana before being transferred to Orange County Jail.

California Highway Patrol officials have not confirmed the driver’s identity because he did not provide a driver’s license or other legal identification. The information he gave officers also conflicted with that given by a woman who identified herself as his wife, said CHP spokeswoman Colleen Richardson.

Witnesses said Torres’ 1978 Chevrolet van was northbound on Newport Boulevard and ran two red lights just before the 6:40 p.m. collision. He allegedly sped through a third red light at Cowan Heights Drive, in unincorporated Cowan Heights, and slammed into the driver’s side of a 1995 Toyota Corolla, killing those inside.

The Orange County coroner’s office has not released the names of the dead because their relatives had not been located.

Richardson said the driver of the Toyota was a 24-year-old woman from Whittier. The 38-year-old passenger was a mother of three and lived in Garden Grove, Richardson said.

A passenger in the van, who was not identified, was also treated for minor injuries at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

An hour after that accident, a couple from Tustin were killed in a Santa Ana collision. The couple’s brown compact Toyota was broadsided by a sport utility vehicle at Harbor Boulevard and Kent Avenue in Santa Ana, police said.

The driver of the Toyota, Can Duc Ha, 52, died at the scene. His wife, Bich Ha, 54, was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she died about two hours later, said supervising deputy coroner Cullen Ellingbergh.

Both suffered severe trauma to the upper body.

The Toyota had pulled onto Harbor from Kent and into the path of the white Mercedes-Benz SUV. The SUV was northbound on Harbor and slammed into the driver’s side of the Toyota.

A witness reported that the Toyota had stopped just before entering the intersection, police said.

“It looks like the Toyota stopped and didn’t see a car and pulled out in front of the SUV,” Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Chavez said.

The two occupants of the SUV suffered minor injuries. The driver, Quang Vinh Phi, 22, and passenger Ivan Vinh Phi, 15, both of Fountain Valley, were treated at a hospital and released.

The driver of the SUV had the right-of-way and was not charged or cited, Chavez said.