Orange County Catastrophe Day

WESTMINSTER – A man dressed in black was killed early this morning after being run over by a car and a big-rig as he walked across the San Diego (I-405) Freeway. The man, who has not been identified, was in the fast lane of the northbound I-405 near Beach Boulevard when he was hit by a Honda Civic and then a big-rig at about 1:17 a.m., CHP dispatcher Dave Clark said.

The freeway was shut down at 1:27 and remained largely closed down for more than four hours as biohazard crews cleaned up lanes, Clark said.

The drivers of the Honda and the big-rig pulled to the side of the freeway and called police, Clark said. No one has been cited in the crash. The investigation is ongoing.

The pedestrian is described as a black man wearing a black hooded sweat shirt, dark jeans, black tennis shoes and a black baseball cap.

UPLAND – A 75-foot power pole being moved into place smashed through a car, killing the driver and a construction worker and critically injuring a woman passenger, police said.

The crane operator, Joseph Dimaano, 31, of Santa Ana was arrested for investigation of involuntary manslaughter after the accident because the pole was moved onto the street without warning, police said.

The pole was being installed at a corner shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday and was dangling from a crane when it was moved out into traffic, where it went through the windshield of a car, police said.

The driver, an 81-year-old Montclair man, was killed on impact. His identity was withheld pending notification of relatives, the San Bernardino County coroner’s office said Thursday.

The passenger, an 80-year-old Montclair woman, was taken to a hospital in critical condition. There was no word on her condition Thursday.

After the pole’s bottom end hit the car, the top end struck a worker on the ground who was guiding the pole. David Jenkins, 29, of Lake Elsinore died about an hour later at a hospital, Sgt. Greg Doyle said.