BREA : Car Kills Passenger Outside Disabled Van

A woman who was standing near her disabled van on the Orange Freeway on Wednesday morning was hit by a passing car and killed immediately, police said.

Maria Delrosario Garcia, 43, of Riverside had been in a van driven by her husband, Alonzo, with two other passengers when a rear tire blew out at 5:20 a.m., said California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angel Johnson.

They were traveling in the right lane of the southbound freeway when the exploded tire wrapped around the van’s rear axle, causing it to stop near the Lambert Road exit, Johnson said.

Alonzo Garcia, 44, tried to push the van onto the shoulder. His wife and a passenger, Maria Guzman, got out and stood behind the van for an unknown reason, CHP officials said.

“Maybe they were watching traffic or to help him out, we don’t know,” Johnson said. “Whatever the reason was, it was the wrong choice for them to stand in middle of a roadway.”

As Garcia was shifting into neutral, a big rig and a Honda behind it were approaching the van in the same lane at about 60 m.p.h. After the big rig quickly changed to the left lane, the Honda driver apparently didn’t see the van and couldn’t change lanes in time, Johnson said. He struck the two women and the van.

Maria Garcia died immediately. Guzman was thrown 80 feet and fell onto the shoulder, Johnson said. She was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she was treated for a broken left leg and abdominal and head injuries. Alonzo Garcia and the driver of the Honda were treated at Brea Community Hospital for minor injuries.

No citations were issued, and police are investigating, Johnson said.