Wrong-Way Driver Kills 1

One person was killed and another critically injured late Tuesday in a head-on collision caused by a wrong-way driver who may have been under the influence of alcohol, authorities said.

The crash on Santa Margarita Parkway just north of Los Alisos Boulevard was reported at 11:40 p.m., Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Wayne Rehnelt told a news photographer at the scene.

According to witnesses, a driver at the wheel of a pickup headed south on the north side of Santa Margarita Parkway collided head-on with a minivan, Rehnelt said.

The minivan driver was pronounced dead at the scene and the pickup driver, who was being investigated for driving under the influence of alcohol, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, he said.

Both vehicles suffered heavy front-end damage. The driver compartment of the minivan was crumpled.

North Santa Margarita Boulevard was closed from Los Alison Boulevard to El Toro Road while authorities investigated the wreck and cleared debris.

-- City News Service