A 68-year-old woman walking on a sidewalk and a motorcyclist are dead following a high-speed crash that knocked down a telephone pole and caused a gas leak in Fullerton.
The mangled Audi sedan ended up on its roof next to a home after the crash around 9 a.m. on Easter Sunday. The Audi and motorcycle were traveling at a high rate of speed when they struck a Toyota minivan turning left at an intersection, police said.
The Yamaha R6 motorcycle hit the rear passenger side of the minivan. The Audi struck the front passenger side. The van's occupants, a 74-year-old man and 15-year-old boy, were hospitalized with minor injuries.
The 35-year-old motorcycle rider was ejected from the bike and died at a hospital. He was identified as 34-year-old Bryan Tacadena Talladen of Anaheim.
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The Audi veered from the road, striking a bicyclist and a 68-year-old woman Antonia Mendez-Ruiz, of Fullerton. She was walking to an Easter gathering with her husband when they were struck from behind, he said.
"I fell on this side and when I got back up I saw my wife was thrown over there," Jesus Martinez said. "When the paramedics arrived she wasn’t moving, She was lifeless."
The bicyclist was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
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The car then struck the telephone pole before rolling over onto its roof next to a house. The 32-year-old driver was not seriously injured.
Homes in the area were evacuated due to a gas leak caused by the crash.
Luis Cisneros and his family were celebrating Easter at the time of the crash. He said drivers often speed on the section of road.
"I don’t know why people race or speed up here in this street where there are houses and kids," he said, adding that the crash was roughly the third he has witnessed in as many years.
No arrests were reported Sunday. Authorities asked anyone with information about the crash to call police at 714-738-6815.
