5 cars crash in Costa Mesa

It was one of those rare traffic accidents that could actually be

labeled “comical,” Costa Mesa Fire Captain Lenny Goodsir said about a

five-car crash Friday evening that left cleanup crews mopping about

20 gallons of white paint off the streets.

“Thankfully, no one got hurt,” he said.

The crash was caused by the driver of a pickup truck who ran a red

light at about 5:45 p.m., Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Scott May said.

The truck was going eastbound on 18th Street and hit a car

traveling southbound on Placentia Avenue, he said. One other truck

and two more cars that were stopped at the intersection were also

involved in the crash.

“The driver of the truck fled the scene,” May said. “So we’re

treating it as a hit-and-run.”

But the so-called comedy of the situation had to do with the white

paint that was splashed all over the intersection, on the cars and

even on passing vehicles and bystanders.

“We got there to see paint splashed around everywhere,” Goodsir

said. “And there were all these people covered in white paint that

looked like ghosts.”

-- Deepa Bharath