3 Dead, Including 10-Year-Old Girl, In Placentia DUI Crash

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after his car crashed into a van in Placentia Wednesday night, killing three — including a 10-year-old girl — and injuring others, the Placentia Police Department said.

Santa Ana resident Mario Armando Paz Jr., who was being held on $100,000 bail, was booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI, according to Placentia police Sgt. Joe Connell.

Placentia Police Department officers responded at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday to the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and South Melrose Street where they learned the driver of a black Honda Civic crashed into the rear of a white van, from which several people were ejected.

The victims who died in the crash were identified as 10-year-old Lucero Lopez of Anaheim, 36-year-old Alberto Vincente Lopez of Anaheim, and 65- year-old Gregoria Ramirez of Placentia, according to Connell.

Three people were taken to UCI Medical Center for "serious injuries," and one other child was taken to CHOC for undisclosed injuries, authorities said.

Several other vehicles were involved in the crash, authorities said. As many as eight other people suffered injuries, ranging from minor to life- threatening, police said.

The people driving in the white van were apparently coming from a nearby church and were being driven by the church's pastor and his wife, the Orange County Register reported. Officials do not currently know if everyone in the car had their seatbelts fastened.

No further information was immediately available.

City News Service contributed to this report.