Two Killed in Head-on Collisions

Two people were killed and two seriously injured early Saturday in head-on collisions near Laguna Beach involving allegedly drunk drivers, authorities said.

In the first accident, on Laguna Canyon Road near El Toro Road, a Santa Ana woman was killed and a passenger in her car was injured, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Gregg Bartz said.

The death of Lorraine D. Hill, 20, was the 33rd traffic fatality during the past decade on the road, a narrow, winding thoroughfare that connects the 405 Freeway with the city of Laguna Beach.

Bartz said that Hill was killed at 3:55 a.m. when her eastbound car collided with a sports car driven by Glenn Barnhill, 26, of Laguna Hills. Hill was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

Bartz said that Barnhill, who was traveling west, crossed the dividing line before colliding with Hill’s car. Barnhill suffered minor injuries, he said.

The passenger in Hill’s car, Emilio Viscomi, 27, suffered multiple injuries. He was airlifted to Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he was listed in serious condition Saturday.

Barnhill was booked in the Orange County Jail on charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter, Bartz said. Bail was set at $25,000.

The second accident occurred at 6 a.m. on Pacific Coast Highway about a mile north of Laguna Beach, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

Michael H. Trost, 30, of Mission Viejo was killed when his small truck collided head-on with a car driven by Steven Baird, 31, of Garden Grove. Trost was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The CHP spokesman said Baird’s southbound car was weaving before crossing the dividing strip and crashing into Trost’s northbound truck. Baird suffered multiple injuries and was listed in critical condition Saturday at Mission Community Hospital.