Woman killed, 9 hurt in multi-vehicle crash on 5 Freeway in Irvine

A woman was killed and nine other people, including three children, were injured in separate accidents Thursday morning on the southbound Santa Ana (5) Freeway near the Alton Parkway exit in Irvine, and a suspected drunk driver was arrested in connection with the initial crash.

Firefighters responded about 1:30 a.m. and located nine vehicles and multiple victims, which included children ages 11, 10 and six-months, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito said.

Eight patients, including the three children, were rushed to trauma centers, Bommarito said. A woman was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, he said.

The six-month old child was in the same vehicle as the woman who was killed and the two other children were in a different vehicle, Bommarito said.

The first crash involved two vehicles, a Dodge Challenger and a Toyota Prius.

"The driver of the Dodge Challenger ... was arrested for DUI,'' Officer Florentino Olivera told news outlets. "He did cause the first traffic collision and the second collision happened within ten minutes.''

All southbound lanes of the freeway will be closed for several hours while the California Highway Patrol investigates the crash.

Portions of video used in this story are restricted to the Los Angeles area.

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