Woman Killed but Children Survive Mother's Day Wreck in Laguna Beach

A 31-year-old woman in a vehicle with her two children was killed in a two-vehicle crash today in Laguna Beach.

The other motorist, described as a man in his 80s, was listed in “very grave condition’ at an area hospital, said Laguna Beach police Capt. Jason Kravetz.

The crash at El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads occurred about 12:30 a.m., Kravetz said.

The woman, identified by the coroner’s office as Sandra Maldonado of Mission Viejo, was riding in a vehicle with her 8-year-old child and 5-year-old child, going northbound on El Toro Road when it appears her vehicle and a Honda Pilot traveling in the opposite direction sideswiped one another, he said.

Maldonado was rushed to an Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.

Her children were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, but they did not appear to have any serious injuries, Kravetz said.

“Alcohol doesn’t appear to be a factor. We’re still trying to determine which of the two vehicles veered out of their own traffic lanes,” the police captain said.

The woman’s car spun around and the Honda rolled off the road into some bushes, where it came to rest on its wheels, Kravetz said.

The Honda driver, a resident of Laguna Woods, was listed in very grave condition at an area hospital. His wife, who was the other occupant in the SUV, was not injured.

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