23-year-old man killed in Dana Point crash with another car that was sought by police

A 23-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita man was killed and two others were injured late Wednesday, Aug. 19, in a collision in Dana Point with a car that at one point had been pursued by police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.

The driver of the vehicle that was sought, a woman in her 40s, remains hospitalized and will be booked into jail when she is medically cleared, Carrie Braun, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, said Saturday. Her name is being withheld until she is jailed, Braun said.

What charges she might face were unclear Saturday. Investigators were trying to determine whether the woman was driving under the influence, Braun said.

Jason Carbonell was cut out of the Subaru Outback that he was in and died at a hospital, Braun said. Carbonell’s mother, Arminda Hanna, told the Register late Saturday that Carbonell was the driver of the Outback and said his twin brother Brian, one of the passengers, is in intensive care in Mission Hospital.

Hanna said Brian Carbonell’s girlfriend, Mayly Willey, was in the car with the brothers, had minor injuries and has been released from the hospital. A friend of Brian Carbonell and Willey who created a GoFundMe account to help with their hospital bills wrote that they are expected to make full recoveries.

The incident began with Laguna Beach police pursuing the Toyota Corolla on Pacific Coast Highway near Niguel Road. Police broke off that pursuit, Braun said, and the Corolla struck the Outback about a half-mile south of Niguel at PCH and Selva Road.

The Sheriff’s Department arrived at the collision at about 10:35 p.m. and took charge of the investigation.

“It does appear that the suspect vehicle may have run a red light, but that’s under ongoing investigation,” Braun said.

Braun said she did not know why Laguna Beach police sought to stop the Corolla, when and why the pursuit was ended or how long afterward the collision happened. A Laguna Beach police spokesman said more information would be available in the coming week.

Carbonell attended Tesoro High School and played baseball. Titans’ head coach Rick Brail said Carbonell was a late bloomer in the sport, having started when he was in middle school.

Persistent and a hard worker, Carbonell got better each year and worked his way through the program until his senior year, when he started games in the outfield and as the team’s designated hitter in Spring 2015, Brail said.

The Titans went 20-9 that season.

“He was solid,” Brail said. “He was a rock solid person and teammate, he got along with everybody. It was a good team and he was a big part of that.”

He said Carbonell’s work ethic and ability to get better every year was something he would never forget.

He came from a strong family, Brail said.

“His persistence, hard work, dedication and positivity, it paid off on the baseball field,” Brail said. “It’s super sad, I know he was going to take those same skills in life and be successful.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the photo. The original photo mistakenly identified the person in it as Jason Carbonell. The photo with Carbonell and his nephew now on the story is correct.