Huntington man dies in traffic collision A...

Huntington man dies in traffic collision

A man died and two women were hospitalized after their cars

collided in the 9600 block of West Coast Highway in Newport Beach at

about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Ralph Matson, 72, of Huntington Beach, was

pronounced dead at Hoag Hospital at 1:26 p.m.

Matson was driving westbound on Coast Highway when his car crossed

the center divider and struck head on a 1991 Jetta driven by Kiriaki

Kotsonas, 23, of Long Beach. Kotsonas and her 26-year-old passenger

were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana to be treated for

lacerations, fractures and suspected internal injuries.

The cause of death for Matson is under investigation. Newport

Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman said that the man may have had a

medical emergency that caused his 1993 Saturn sedan to cross into

oncoming traffic.

Remains found could be Surf City resident

Police found human remains buried in the sand at Humboldt Bay in

Eureka, Calif. Saturday that they believe could be a missing

Huntington Beach resident.

Police are investigating whether the body could be 22-year-old

Huntington Beach resident Matthew Large, who was reported missing in

December 2001.

Large’s truck was discovered on Dec. 28, 2001, three weeks after

he was reported missing submerged in Humboldt Bay, said Sgt. Gary

Meza of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

They are still waiting on a positive identification of the body,

said Meza.

The case is being treated as a homicide.

Violent crime up in Surf City in 2002

Violent crime was up in Huntington Beach during the first nine

months of 2002 compared to the same time in 2001, according to a

preliminary report released by the California attorney general on

Tuesday.

There were three murders between January and September of 2002

compared to none the previous year. Robbery was up 6.8% and the total

number of violent crimes went up by 1.5%. Aggravated assaults showed

a decline of 2.4%.

The city’s numbers reflected a statewide trend. Violent crimes in

California increased by 0.8%.

However, Huntington Beach saw a decline in property crimes.

Burglaries were down 14.6% and auto thefts by 12.2%. Thefts alone

went up 6.4%. The city showed a total crime increase of 1.3%.