Elderly Woman Killed in Tustin Car Crash

An elderly woman was killed in a car crash in Tustin when the vehicle she was an occupant of was hit by pickup truck and burst into flames.

Police responded last Friday night (Nov. 23, 2018) to a report of the collision at about 9:40 p.m. at Red Hill Avenue and Dyer Road.

Although an Irvine police officer was near the location of the crash and, along with some nearby good Samaritans, successfully removed four occupants from the vehicle that was struck before it caught fire, they were unable to remove 75-year-old Deodula Monandum of Visalia. She was pinned by the collision making it impossible to extricate her before the flames consumed the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene following the extinguishing of the flames by Orange County firefighters.

The other occupants of the vehicles were all transported to hospitals with moderate to major injuries.

Investigators revealed that they believe a red GMC pickup truck was headed south on Red Hill Avenue when it struck a black Chevrolet Cruze that was waiting at the red light. The crash shot the Chevrolet across the intersection before it finally stopped and then burst into flames.

The driver of the red GMC truck was identified as a 26-year-old man from San Jose. The police press release of the incident stated that he stayed at the scene and was “semi-cooperative.”

The driver is currently still in the hospital. No arrests have been made and the investigation is still underway.

Accidents like these often leave families with the right to pursue a claim. As one of the leading catastrophic personal injury law firms in California, Callahan & Blaine has obtained numerous record-breaking verdicts and settlements in cases like this, helping bring some small justice to the aggrieved family. If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident, contact the best personal injury attorneys in Orange County for expert legal counsel.

Jake Gosselin