An 86-year-old man has died after a two-car crash that also killed a mother of two children — who were in her vehicle — in Laguna Beach early Mother’s Day.
The death of 86-year-old Manuel Mercado occurred nearly 18 hours after the 12:26 a.m. crash on El Toro and Laguna Canyon road. His identity was released by the Orange County coroner’s office.
Mercado, of Laguna Woods, died at Mission Hospital, where the other driver was also taken Sunday.
Sandra Maldonado, 31, of Mission Viejo, was identified as the crash’s first victim on Sunday. She died at 2:10 a.m.
Police said the vehicles involved in the crash were driven by the two victims.
Maldonado’s black Toyota Corolla collided with Mercado’s Honda Pilot, which was traveling in the opposite direction on El Toro Road, authorities said. The Pilot spun out and landed in brush off the roadway.
First responders used the Jaws of Life to remove the two victims. It took about 30 minutes to get the patients out of the wreckage, Laguna Beach Fire Department Division Chief Api Weinert said.
Maldonado’s 5-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter were hospitalized at Western Medical Center and later released, police said.
Mercado’s wife, who was a passenger, was not injured, and she accompanied her husband to the hospital.
Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be a factor, police said.
