Illegal street racing suspected in deadly Fullerton crash
FULLERTON, Calif. - A 34-year-old man riding a motorcycle and a 64-year-old pedestrian were killed Sunday after the motorcycle and a sedan collided with a minivan making a left turn in Fullerton, authorities said.
The accident also sent the sedan careening into a telephone pole and a residence, causing a gas leak that prompted the evacuation of several nearby homes.
Police and paramedics were dispatched at about 9:20 a.m. Sunday to the area of Magnolia and Flower avenues, according to Captain John Radus of the Fullerton Police Department.
A gray Audi sedan and a white Yamaha R6 motorcycle were traveling northbound on Magnolia Avenue at a high rate of speed when they both struck a gold Toyota Sienna minivan that was making an eastbound turn onto Flower from southbound Magnolia, Radus said.
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The biker struck the rear passenger side of the van, ejecting the rider, identified as Bryan Talladen from Anaheim, Radus said. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The Audi struck the front passenger side of the van, and the force of the collision caused the Audi to veer off the roadway, striking both a bicyclist and 64-year-old Antonia Mendez-Ruiz, both of whom were on the east sidewalk of Magnolia, he said.
Mendez-Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene, Fullerton Police said. The bicyclist, a man in his 30s, was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries.
The sedan then knocked down a telephone pole, struck a front-yard fence and came to rest against the front of a home on Magnolia, causing a gas leak, police said.
"Multiple residents were evacuated from surrounding homes due to the gas leak," Radus said. "Fullerton fire shut down the gas and all displaced residents have since returned to their homes."
Inside the minivan were Armando Guerra's 15-year-old son Dominic Guerra and his father, who were on their home after shopping for Easter dinner.
"My dad was turning in on Flower, and the motorcycle and the car collided with them," Guerra said. Both of them were taken to a local hospital Guerra said his dad, "has a concussion and my son has back injuries."
Fullerton police urged anyone with information about the fatal crash to contact 714-738-6815, Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227, or occrimestoppers.org.