Anaheim : Woman Dies After Car Crosses Divider, Crashes

An 18-year-old woman died Sunday after her car went out of control, crossed the center divider and struck oncoming traffic on the Riverside Freeway near Imperial Highway, the California Highway Patrol said.

Witnesses told police that a car being driven west by Colleen P. Connely of Riverside suddenly veered out of control “for unknown reasons” toward the center divider, a CHP spokeswoman said. An investigation is continuing, she added.

After crossing the divider, Connely’s car struck two others. One seriously injured woman, Marica D. Adatto, 30, of Placentia, was airlifted by emergency helicopter to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where her condition was listed as guarded. Two people in a third car escaped injury, the CHP spokeswoman said.