Fullerton, California
A 28-year-old Fontana man tragically lost his life and five other people sustained injuries on Wednesday evening in a massive truck accident in Fullerton. The accident was reported at around 7:40 p.m. on the 57 Freeway near the Chapman Avenue exit.
Authorities say Eric McEntarffer, 28, was driving his Honda Accord in the fast lane on the northbound side of the 57 when a southbound truck and a passenger vehicle blew through the concrete divider. The truck hit three other vehicles before barreling head-on into McEntarffer’s Accord. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
While the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is still in the midst of an accident investigation, officials say 27-year-old truck driver Daniel Gregory Delara was hauling a forklift in the slow lane on the southbound side of the 57 when something went wrong, possibly a blown tire. Delara’s truck ended up swerving across all lanes before it collided with a Honda Civic driven by 60-year-old Christine Hyo-Min Choi. Delara’s truck and Choi’s Civic ended up going through the concrete median. The forklift was hurled into the air and Delara’s truck hit a Toyota Camry, a 4Runner and a Prius before slamming into McEntarffer’s Accord.
According to the Orange County Register, nine vehicles in total were involved in the accident. Officials say 51-year-old Jennifer Kim of Brea was taken to St. Jude Medical Center; 53-year-old Mary Muchen Chen of Diamond Bar was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana; 58-year-old Mohamed A. Rajpoot of Long Beach was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange; Delara was taken to Mission Hospital and Choi was taken to Placentia-Linda Hospital. Two other unidentified victims were also hospitalized. All sustained moderate injuries, but are expected to survive.
Commercial truck drivers are required by law to perform daily safety inspections on their trucks, including visual inspections on their tires, wheels and axles. In this case, it appears that Delara failed in that responsibility, and it may have cost a young man his life.