carbonmarine
07-23-2003, 09:53 AM
** Driver dies after losing control of Porsche .....
Officials are investigating whether street racing was involved. Witnesses told the CHP that the driver appeared to be trying to catch a car that had passed him.
By JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register
COSTA MESA — The driver of a new Porsche died late Tuesday when he lost control of the sports car while apparently trying to catch a car that had passed him on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, the California Highway Patrol reported today. The Porsche, so new it didn’t have license plates, went down an embankment onto the San Diego (I-405) Freeway and zipped across all the southbound lanes into the center divider, investigators said. The driver was ejected and killed, even though he was wearing a seatbelt. The victim hasn't been identified yet. Investigators are trying to determine if a race was in progress when the crash occurred and whether the driver knew the driver of a black car the Porche was chasing, CHP Officer Denise Quesada said.
The incident began at about 10 p.m. on the northbound lanes of the 55 when the new Porsche was passed at more than 100 mph by a small black car, witnesses told the CHP. The Porsche's driver then appeared to try to catch the car that passed him and lost control when traffic slowed near the 405 interchange, they told the CHP. It's unknown how fast the Porsche was traveling. Quesada said it slammed into a guardrail, ripping it from its posts, rolled down an embankment, then went airborne onto the southbound 405. The Porsche crossed the southbound 405, possibly hitting a 1993 Toyota Corolla driven by an Anaheim woman. She told officers she felt an impact and lost control of her car. She received minor injuries.
The Porsche then hit the 405Â’s center divider, and the driver flew out of his seatbelt onto the northbound 405, where he was hit by several cars, Quesada said. He was decapitated and died at the scene.
Officials are investigating whether street racing was involved. Witnesses told the CHP that the driver appeared to be trying to catch a car that had passed him.
By JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register
COSTA MESA — The driver of a new Porsche died late Tuesday when he lost control of the sports car while apparently trying to catch a car that had passed him on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, the California Highway Patrol reported today. The Porsche, so new it didn’t have license plates, went down an embankment onto the San Diego (I-405) Freeway and zipped across all the southbound lanes into the center divider, investigators said. The driver was ejected and killed, even though he was wearing a seatbelt. The victim hasn't been identified yet. Investigators are trying to determine if a race was in progress when the crash occurred and whether the driver knew the driver of a black car the Porche was chasing, CHP Officer Denise Quesada said.
The incident began at about 10 p.m. on the northbound lanes of the 55 when the new Porsche was passed at more than 100 mph by a small black car, witnesses told the CHP. The Porsche's driver then appeared to try to catch the car that passed him and lost control when traffic slowed near the 405 interchange, they told the CHP. It's unknown how fast the Porsche was traveling. Quesada said it slammed into a guardrail, ripping it from its posts, rolled down an embankment, then went airborne onto the southbound 405. The Porsche crossed the southbound 405, possibly hitting a 1993 Toyota Corolla driven by an Anaheim woman. She told officers she felt an impact and lost control of her car. She received minor injuries.
The Porsche then hit the 405Â’s center divider, and the driver flew out of his seatbelt onto the northbound 405, where he was hit by several cars, Quesada said. He was decapitated and died at the scene.