Driver Dies as Car Flips and Bursts Into Flames

A motorist was killed Sunday evening when his small convertible flipped out of control on a Fountain Valley street and and burst into flames.

Police were still trying to confirm the victim’s identity late Sunday following the 6:20 p.m. accident on Warner Avenue between Euclid and Ward streets. The victim’s girlfriend, a passenger in the car, escaped serious injury, police said.

Fountain Valley Police Lt. Rod Gillman said the car was westbound on Warner when it swerved out of control and flipped over for unknown reasons. The woman passenger was either ejected on impact or managed to crawl away from the vehicle, which burst into flames with the driver trapped inside, he said.

Fountain Valley firefighters said the driver was conscious and trying to get out of the vehicle but that he could not escape in time. The car was burned so badly that police initially could not determine its make or model.

The woman passenger, whose name was not released Sunday night, was transported to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, where she was treated for minor injuries. The accident, which occurred on a straight stretch of Warner where the maximum speed is 45 m.p.h., remains under investigation, police said.