Santa Ana man, 53, dies in rollover accident near South Coast Plaza, 4 others hospitalized

Costa Mesa police are investigating a rollover collision involving four vehicles Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Bear Street and Sunflower Avenue near Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza that left one man dead.

CMPD spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said a call came in at 1:54 p.m. regarding a multiple vehicle accident near the intersection. When officers arrived, they found one of the four vehicles involved in the crash had rolled over during the incident and a driver was trapped inside and unresponsive.

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue members arrived on scene and discovered the trapped male driver — identified by the Orange County coroner’s office Monday as Aristides Guerra, 53, of Santa Ana — had died from his injuries.

A second driver complained of pain and was transported with two passengers from the same vehicle to a nearby hospital for further evaluation, Fyad said. A third driver, who complained to emergency responders of back pain, was self-transported to a hospital, while the driver of the fourth vehicle was uninjured.

Traffic was temporarily diverted while officers with CMPD’s Major Accident Investigation Team processed the scene.

Fyad said Monday it was unknown whether alcohol or drugs may have been a factor in the collision, pending the outcome of the investigation.

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