Victim identified in Christmas Eve crash

Ralph Abinader was killed Thursday evening after the driver of the Ferrari he rode in crashed into a tow truck on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach.

The driver, whose name has not been released, was going westbound on Pacific Coast Highway, near Jamboree Road, in a Ferrari at an excessive rate of speed when he jumped the center divider and crashed head-on into the tow truck that was driving eastbound, said Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Burdette.

The Ferrari split into two pieces and caught fire.

The 24-year-old Huntington Beach resident was killed at the scene, and the male driver was transported to Western Medical Center with critical injuries, after firefighters rescued him from the sports car. He remains in a critical condition, Burdette said.

The male driver and female passenger of the tow truck sustained minor injuries and were taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian for their injuries, Burdette said.

East Coast Highway was closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, between Bayside Drive and Jamboree, for several hours after the crash, where 18 firefighters responded.