Young driver killed in fiery crash on connector from northbound 5 to southbound 55 Freeway in Tustin
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A “young man” who witnesses said was driving at more than 100 miles an hour was killed early Sunday after a crash on the transition road between the northbound 5 Freeway and the southbound 55 Freeway in Tustin, the California Highway Patrol said.
The incident occurred at 1:42 a.m., according to the CHP. The road remained closed as of 7:20 a.m.
Officers began pursuing the car after it failed to yield about 20 minutes before the crash, said CHP Sgt. Hope Maxson, but they canceled the pursuit because the car was going too fast. She said callers estimated the car was going in excess of 100 mph.
The driver was traveling in a different direction when the crash happened, she said.
The car hit an embankment on the connector and went flying off the road, striking a tree and landing upside down. The driver was ejected from the car, which caught fire. The blaze began spreading to the hillside but was extinguished, Maxson said.
The driver had been alone in the car. Maxson said he was “a young man,” but his age was not given.
No additional information was immediately available Sunday morning. Please check back for updates.