Sedan Totaled in Collision with 60,000-Pound Crane

A driver who hit the side of a 60,000-pound, 25-foot-long crane Thursday morning escaped with only moderate injuries, authorities said.

At about 6:20 a.m. a Mission Viejo woman in a black Suzuki SX4 driving west on Santa Margarita Parkway struck the side of a three-axle crane headed north on El Toro Road in the intersection at El Toro and Portola/Santa Margarita, sheriff's Deputy Mark Froome said.

Though the crash temporarily knocked the Mission Viejo woman unconscious, she regained consciousness and was taken to Mission Hospital. Her injuries are not life-threatening, Froome said.

Deputies said that an unidentified off-duty firefighter stopped at the crash site and was stabilizing the woman when police arrived. 

The driver of the crane, a 45-year-old Los Alamitos man, was uninjured, Froome said. 

Three witnesses told police that the crane driver ran a red light, Froome said.

Froome, who likened the impact on the sedan to "running into a wall," said the Suzuki sedan was totaled while the crane sustained moderate damage. (Editor's note: Thanks to Patch reader Jessica Wheeler for sending in a photo from the crash scene.)

Deputies shut down a portion of the intersection for approximately two hours, he said. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing.