3 Teen-Agers Among 6 Killed in Car Accidents

Traffic accidents in Orange County have killed six people this weekend, including three teen-agers who died after their Mercedes-Benz crossed into oncoming traffic in San Juan Capistrano on Friday night and collided with a Ford Mustang.

The dead included the driver of the Mercedes, John Christopher Quinton, 16, of Laguna Niguel and two passengers, Larry Klebusits, 18, of Laguna Niguel and Alison Veronica Babcock, 16, of Irvine. Two other passengers in the car were in fair condition Saturday at Mission Community Hospital.

Two passengers in the Mustang, Sandy Donahue, 35, and her daughter Casey, 8, both of Fountain Valley were in critical condition. The driver of the car, Howard Hayden, 34, of Capistrano Beach, was in fair condition.

Lt. Richard J. Olsen of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said Quinton lost control of the 1983 Mercedes at about 10:30 p.m. while traveling southbound on Camino Capistrano just north of Junipero Serra Road. The car slid into the northbound lane, where it was hit broadside by the Mustang and rolled over.

Later Friday night, a 42-year-old Westminster man was struck by a car while crossing a street in Westminster, police said. The pedestrian, Marco Sanchez, was hit in the southbound lane of Beach Boulevard north of 15th Street. He was not in a crosswalk, according to Lt. Bob Burnett, and apparently was under the influence of alcohol. Sanchez suffered extensive head injuries and died at Fountain Valley Trauma Center.

At about the same time, a young, male transient was fatally injured as he tried to cross Beach Boulevard in La Habra, south of Imperial Highway.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was in his late 20s, according to La Habra Police Sgt. Phil Stufflebean. He was struck by a 19-year-old Santa Ana woman who was traveling south on Beach Boulevard, Stufflebean said. The man sustained massive internal injuries and died at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital.

A 50-year-old Vista man was killed and his twin brother was critically injured early Saturday when their car left the southbound lane of Interstate 5 at Ball Road and crashed into a stand of trees.

According to Officer Maggie Cundy of the California Highway Patrol, Edward W. Erickson, a passenger in the car, was killed when he was struck by a tree branch. His brother, Edwin, the driver, was critically injured. He was taken to the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center.

There were no witnesses, Cundy said, and the CHP is investigating.