Seal Beach Man 'Amazingly' Survives High Speed Head-On Crash

A 21-year-old Seal Beach man is recovering today after a high-speed head-on collision on the 55 Freeway.

Neither driver suffered major injuries in the head-on crash that ended with the arrest of 20-year-old Joseph Walker Almand of Orange on suspicion of driving under the influence.

“Amazingly, they both walked away from it,” said CHP Officer Tino Olivera. “They were transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons.”

It was just before 2 a.m. Sunday morning when the California Highway Patrol got a call of a black 2003 Mercedes speeding northbound on the southbound side of the 55 Freeway near Baker Street in Costa Mesa. The driver continued heading north, passing several patrol cars at 90 miles per hour, according to the CHP.

Just north of Lincoln Avenue, Almand collided headon with a 2105 BMW driven by Zachary Warren Lew of Seal Beach.

Both men were taken to UCI Medical Center with minor injuries.