Three critical after 405 crash

A young girl and a Newport Beach resident were among three people listed in critical condition after a five-car crash on the 405 Freeway in Irvine on Saturday morning.

About 8:30 a.m., 22-year-old Ana Flores from Moreno Valley was getting onto the northbound 405 Freeway at Culver Drive when she lost control of the Jeep she was driving and it skidded into the middle lanes and came to a stop. A 4-year-old girl was also in the car.

When the Jeep stopped, a big rig going between 50 and 55 mph hit it, sending the Jeep into the median. The big rig jack-knifed and skidded to the right side of the freeway, hitting a 1929 Ford car in the far right lane, and then a CHP cruiser and another car stopped in front of it on the shoulder.

Flores and the girl were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana with critical injuries. The driver of the Ford, 78-year-old Salvatore Giannulli from Corona del Mar, was taken to UCI Chapman Medical Center and is listed in critical condition. The CHP officer was uninjured, and the driver of the car in front of him suffered minor injuries. A dog was also killed in the crash.

—Joseph Serna