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A fiery, deadly crash on Santiago Canyon Road north of Silverado Canyon Road on Thursday afternoon was caused by a gardening truck that crossed into oncoming traffic, the California Highway Patrol said Friday.
The crash, around 1 p.m., led to a roughly seven-hour closure of part of Santiago Canyon Road.
On Thursday, the gardener was credited by witnesses at the scene who said they saw him reach into a burning car and pluck a young boy to safety. A man in that car had been killed, the CHP said.
On Friday, CHP Officer Fernando Perez said a preliminary investigation showed it was the southbound gardening truck that crossed the divide into the northbound lane. Perez said the CHP did not know what caused the truck to swerve. The CHP said the gardener had been alone in the truck.
Firefighters could be seen dousing burned vehicles with water, including a white sedan and a stake-bed truck, in footage from freelance news videographer OnScene.TV.
The relationship between the man who died and the boy was not provided by authorities on Friday afternoon.
“I heard the child screaming,” the gardener said in a brief interview in Costa Mesa on Friday morning, before the CHP announced its findings. He declined to say what led to the crash, or to give his name to a reporter.
The gardener said he had reached in through a window of the car that was on fire, pulling the child from the backseat. Afterward, he said, he sat with the youngster in his arms until authorities arrived, speaking with them before they could be taken to the hospital.
Witnesses had also described seeing the gardener rush to the car where the driver died, and as the car began to burn, pull a young child out and carry him to safety, Fox11 reported.
“What I observed was someone, appeared to be the driver, that very obviously had died,” witness John Thompson told the station. “That gentleman (the gardener) is a hero and saved that little child’s life.”
Part of Santiago Canyon Road remained closed in both directions until around 8:40 p.m., as investigators gathered evidence and crews worked to clear the scene.
Perez said the boy, who had what were described as minor injuries, was with his mother in a hospital.
No additional information was released.
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