Auto Hits Tree, Driver Is Killed
A Balboa Island woman died from injuries suffered in a car crash Sunday on the Crown Valley Parkway just north of Pacific Island Drive in Laguna Niguel, California Highway Patrol officials reported.
Mary Katherine Benson, 21, was driving south on the parkway near Laguna Niguel at about 9:10 p.m. when her vehicle suddenly made an abrupt left turn into the center divider and struck a large tree, according to witnesses. She was taken by helicopter to Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo, where she was pronounced dead on arrival, medical personnel said.
Witnesses also said Benson was traveling at a high rate of speed and may have swerved left to avoid hitting another vehicle, CHP Officer Ken Daly said.
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