Crime & Safety

Two Wrecks, One Fire and a Fallen Tree on Lake Forest Drive

The same stretch of Lake Forest Drive saw two crashes in 36 minutes, leading to a fire, a fallen tree and two people hospitalized.

Two people were hospitalized in two separate crashes within 45 minutes of one another on the same stretch of Lake Forest Drive on Saturday.

The first accident was a three-car wreck that knocked a 15-foot tree into the road, forcing the closure of eastbound lanes on Lake Forest Drive near Toledo Way, said Lt. Lloyd Downing of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

One of the cars caught fire, but no one was trapped inside, he said. However, one person was injured in the crash and transferred to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, said Downing.

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The accident happened at 1:18 p.m. and the road was closed briefly as firefighters put out the blaze and crews worked to clear the tree out of the road. Because of the closure, the traffic light at the intersection of Lake Forest Drive and Toledo Way was blinking red at 1:54 p.m. when the driver of a 2001 Volkwagen Beetle turned left onto Toledo Way to avoid the previous wreck. But the Volkswagen ended up colliding with a Honda heading west on Lake Forest Drive, said Downing.

The driver of the Volkswagen was taken to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center with chest and shoulder pain, added Downing.

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