NORTH COUNTY : 2 Die in Unrelated Auto Accidents

A pair of unrelated car crashes Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning left two North County residents dead, police said.

In La Habra, 18-year-old Oscar Robles was traveling at a “high rate of speed” when his 1972 Chevy pickup struck a cinder-block wall at the intersection of Monte Vista and Florence avenues.

The two streets meet in a T-intersection, and Robles apparently did not turn fast enough to avoid the wall ahead of him, Sgt. Bob Wyse said.

“He was going pretty fast to hit a wall,” Wyse said. “We’re not ruling out alcohol as a factor.”

The force of the impact threw Robles onto the steering wheel. Wyse said he did not know whether Robles had been wearing a seat belt.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, which occurred at 2:07 a.m. Sunday.

Hours earlier, another solo vehicle crash killed William Sarkis, 61, of Buena Park when his Chevy Blazer careened across the intersection of Valley View Street and Barry Drive in Cypress.

The vehicle wound up upside down on the sidewalk, which is how police found it when they arrived shortly after 4 p.m.

“Officers and witnesses attempted to free the driver of the vehicle, who was trapped inside,” said Cypress Police dispatcher Kim Smith. “The driver, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was subsequently removed from the vehicle with the assistance of the Fire Department.”

Paramedics administered first aid at the scene, and Sarkis was taken to Anaheim General Hospital. He was pronounced dead there about 5 p.m., police said.

The causes of both accidents are under investigation.