Driver and passenger flee scene of fatal car crash, killing one

SANTA ANA, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - The driver of a car was killed in a violent collision at a Santa Ana intersection this morning and the driver and a passenger in the other car ran away, apparently suffering from major injuries, authorities said.

The crash happened at First and Bristol streets around 2 a.m., said Santa Ana police Sgt. Oliver Grant. One driver was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

The deceased driver was a man, Santa Ana police Cmdr. Jeffrey Smith said. Witnesses saw the driver of the other car and a passenger fleeing the scene, one with an open leg fracture and the other with what appeared other major injuries, Grant said.

Police were following a blood trail in hopes of locating the people who fled, Smith said. Two men in the car from which the two fled -- the vehicle believed to have been in the wrong -- were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Police were contacting area hospitals in their search for the people who fled, Grant said.

An officer at the scene said it appeared one car had broadsided the other, Grant said. One of the cars was a Mercedes.

The intersection was expected to be closed for several hours for the investigation, Grant said.