3 Hurt in Crash in Laguna Canyon

LAGUNA BEACH —  Three people were injured, one critically, in a head-on collision that forced the closure of Laguna Canyon Road for two hours, authorities said.

The accident occurred about a mile north of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor about 4:15 p.m. when one of the vehicles crossed the double line, said Lori Boursier, a supervisor with the Orange County Fire Authority.

Boursier said the California Highway Patrol and fire authorities closed the highway to enable a helicopter to airlift the critically injured victim to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

Boursier said the two other victims, whose air bags inflated after the crash, were also taken by ambulance to the Mission Viejo hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

The names of the three injured persons were not immediately available.

Laguna Canyon Road is one of the most dangerous thoroughfares in Orange County, averaging two to three fatalities a year. County officials have stated that the number of injuries and fatalities on the roadway is about twice the average rate on other state highways.

Because of the high number of accidents, the Board of Supervisors decided last year to widen a 4.8-mile stretch of highway.