A 20-year-old woman was in critical condition and two others were in serious condition after a two-car collision in Santa Ana early Sunday morning.
Officials first responded to the collision that occurred on the 100 block of East Edinger Avenue between midnight and 1 a.m., Orange County Fire Authority said.
The collision sent one vehicle crashing through a fence and into a wall of a neighboring home while the other vehicle stalled on nearby Cypress Avenue.
The Santa Ana Police Department has been handling the investigation and is going through a large quantity of debris to find the cause of the crash. Alcohol and drugs were believed to have been involved.
“We do believe that alcohol or drugs are, in fact, in play in this investigation,” Cpl. Brett Nelson said. “Tentatively, we did find some things in the vehicle that would indicate alcohol was involved, but that will be pending per the investigation.”
Both vehicles were severely damaged and the victims of the collision were trapped inside the vehicles, prompting responders to use the “Jaws of Life” tool to extricate the victims from the vehicles, officials said.
“It’s a very chaotic scene,” OC Fire Authority Chief James Henery said.
The critically injured woman was believed to be the passenger of one of the vehicles and the two seriously injured victims were believed the be the drivers of the vehicles. Investigators are stilling working toward identifying the victims and the victims have been transported to local area hospitals, officials said.
The residents of the home where one of the vehicles crashed were asleep when the crash occurred. They were asked to vacate the home due to instability and firefighters had to stabilize the structure of the home.
The block between Main Street and Orange Avenue on Edinger Avenue was closed after the collision and could be closed most of the day, officials said.