Corona del Mar Today: CdM teen rescues SUV driver

A Corona del Mar teenager, driving home after water polo practice at Mater Dei High School, rescued a man from an overturned car Monday evening after three vehicles crashed on the 73 toll road near Bear Street, just above the 55 freeway.

“I have a good habit of looking through cars to see what they’re doing ahead,” said Jeff Delaney, 17, a senior at the school in Santa Ana. “And I noticed a car in front of me moving to the left, into the shoulder, and that was kind of weird to me, so I slowed down and moved left too.”

California Highway Patrol Officer Justin Cox said the initial crash involved two cars and no injuries, but a 79-year-old Newport Beach man driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee then hit those cars and overturned about 7:15 p.m.

“I saw it sliding upside down, and sparks were flying,” Jeff said.

He jumped from his car, he said, and sprinted across three lanes of traffic to the overturned Jeep.

“There was one man in the car, upside down, and I went around to see if he was OK,” Jeff said. “I was stepping over gas and stuff on the ground, and I couldn’t open the front door — it was stuck against the asphalt. And he’s just hanging upside down.”

The sparks, smoke from an air bag and gasoline caused the student to worry about an explosion, so he went through a rear door and told the man to brace himself while he worked to unfasten the seat belt.

“Finally, it gave in, and I slowly set him down and then pulled him out,” he said.

By then, an off-duty police officer had stopped, and he helped the two to the side of the road to sit on cushions.

“I kind of sat there thinking, ‘What the heck just happened?’ as help came,” Jeff said.

Eventually, he drove home.

“I kind of went home and hugged my mom and dumbed down the whole story because she would have had a heart attack,” he said.

“He was overwhelmed with being in the moment,” said his mother, Linda Delaney. “I think this experience has helped him to appreciate life a bit more. This moment will last him a lifetime.”

Cox said the rescued man was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. The man declined to comment for this story.

Cox added that he told Jeff at the scene that it would have been safer to pull in front of the wreckage instead of dashing across the road.

“Some people get hurt trying to help,” he said.

Cox said he was impressed that the teen stopped and helped.

“It’s a lot more than most people do,” he said.

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Getting in the spirit of Halloween

Sabrina Froehlich was in eighth-grade when she realized that her family’s three-trunk supply of Halloween gear probably would yield enough costumes for every single day in October.

“I was really, really excited because October was coming around,” she said. “And we have so many costumes, and I thought I could do one every day. I tried to get my friends to do it with me, and they said I was insane.”

Sabrina, 17, a Corona del Mar High School senior, spent October of her eighth- and ninth-grade years in assorted costumes — Sally from “Nightmare Before Christmas,” cowgirl, vampire, flapper, ninja.

The only problem she ever had, she said, was being in violation of the dress code when she wore pajamas and a robe to school.

“Pajamas aren’t allowed unless it’s Pajama Day,” she said. “I had no idea.”

She explained her 31-day approach to Halloween to school officials, however, and smoothed things over.

Her sophomore and junior years, she said, were too busy, so she took a break from costumes.

“It’s just a lot of work, coming up with costumes for the month,” she said. “I tried to focus on homework.”

Senior year, she said, was her last shot at bringing back the tradition.

“On the first day of October, I came down in my costume, and my brother said, ‘Wait, you’re doing the 31-days thing? I’m doing it with you,’” Sabrina said. “He ran to his room and put together a costume. He’s going to carry on the tradition.”

Her brother, Ari Froehlich, 14, an eighth-grader at Corona del Mar Middle School, said other students always ask what he’s planning to wear the next day.

“I tell them they have to wait and find out,” he said. “I like to build suspense.”

At first, Sabrina said, students thought she was strange to dress up for the entire month. Nobody was mean or made fun of her, she said, but they definitely didn’t understand.

But now, she said, people are excited to see what she’s going to wear next. A campus security guard likes to stop to talk about her costumes, and her teachers are fine with her dressing up, as long as she follows their rules for things like wearing hats in class, she said.

“I warned most of my teachers beforehand this year,” Sabrina added.

One teacher remembered her costumes from her freshman year, she said, and was excited to see Sabrina doing it again.

Sabrina said she loves dressing up and is a fan of “cosplay,” a type of performance art or social gathering where participants dress as fictional characters.

“I’m in love with costumes,” she said.

Cosplay participants attend conventions and use social media, she said, to come up with themes and creative outfits.

Ari said his costumes have drawn a lot of attention.

“It’s not something people usually do,” Ari said. “But everyone knows I’m crazy. Everyone is a little crazy.”

Corona del Mar Today appears Sunday in the Daily Pilot. Read daily updates at coronadelmartoday.com.