Last Updated on August 26, 2019 by CCAR Staff
A 7-year-old Fontana boy died Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, and three family members suffered injuries after their car stalled on the 241 Toll Road and was struck by a van, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash, at about 1:30 p.m. in unincorporated Orange County, sent four other people to hospitals. The boy, who was airlifted to a hospital in an unsuccessful effort to safe his life, was identified as Vershad Raggins.
He was in a Kia Optima with his father and two siblings, according to a California Highway Patrol report. They were traveling southbound on the 241, north of the Windy Ridge Toll Plaza area in eastern Orange County when the black Kia sedan became disabled in the No. 2 lane.
It was unclear why the Kia stalled.
Meanwhile, a white Ford cargo van was traveling on the same stretch of highway, southeast of Anaheim Hills, at about 75 miles per hour, the CHP said.
“For (a) yet-to-be determined reason, (the driver) did not see the Kia stopped directly ahead … and the front of the Ford collided with the rear of the Kia,” the report says.
The 54-year-old father, a 16-year-old boy and another 7-year-old boy were taken to a hospital. The surviving 7-year-old had major injuries as did his father while the teenager suffered minor injuries, according to the CHP.
The driver of the van went to the hospital with minor injuries. He had no passengers.
Anyone with information about the crash was asked to contact the California Highway Patrol at 714-567-6000.
