Car with H.B. teens flips down embankment

Six local teens — five from Huntington Beach and one from Costa Mesa — were injured Sunday night when the driver of their SUV lost sight of the road in Running Springs and flipped several times down an embankment, the California Highway Patrol said.

Kevin Hynes, 19, of Huntington Beach, was driving the Chevrolet Tahoe eastbound at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Highway 18, en route to Big Bear with his friends, Officer Gary Fernandez said.

Hynes originally was driving behind other cars in the dense, 20-foot-visibility fog, but the other drivers turned off or pulled over, and Hynes found himself in the front while driving 10 to 15 miles per hour, Fernandez said.

“Basically, he lost sight of the roadway lines that he was using as a reference, and he drove straight into an area where the road curved left,” Fernandez said. “At some point he realized it, and tried to correct it, but it was too late; the right wheels were already over the edge.”

The Tahoe began its descent down the embankment, flipping three or four times before hitting a tree and landing on its roof, Fernandez said.

“Everybody was still inside, so they either had to crawl out or the fire department had to extricate at least one of the parties,” Fernandez said.

Rear row occupant Jarron Ertz of Huntington Beach, 18, fell 30 feet down the embankment when he crawled out of the vehicle, Fernandez said.

Ertz was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center by the Running Springs Fire Department ambulance due to a broken jaw and loose and missing teeth, probably suffered during his fall.

In the middle row, 19-year-old Robert Conolly of Costa Mesa suffered a crushed middle right toe and an abrasion to his left knee; he was sent to the hospital with Nicholas Judd, 18, of Huntington Beach, who had a major fracture to his right leg. The latter was the only teen not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, Fernandez said.

Hynes, who suffered a bump on the back of his head and scrapes to his right hand and left forearm, did not require medical attention, Fernandez said. William Judd of Huntington Beach, 18, who sat in the front passenger seat, had abrasions to his right elbow and knee, but also was not transported to the hospital.

Huntington Beach resident Joshua Stout, 18, who was in the rear row with Ertz, also did not require a hospital trip; he suffered small cuts to his right hand.

Fernandez said alcohol was not involved in the accident, and that the point where the vehicle went over the edge of the road is not known for being the site of accidents.