Surfer Pinned Under Van but Walks Away

A 14-year-old Newport Beach surfer was able to walk away from an accident Tuesday even though a drunk-driving suspect lost control of her van, pinning the youth under the vehicle and dragging him 40 feet, police said.

The youth, who was not identified because of his age, was walking on the sidewalk with a friend along Coast Highway near Seaward Road in Corona del Mar shortly after 5:33 p.m. when a westbound van driven by Laura Ortiz, 50, of Long Beach rammed into an Orange County Transit District bus and spun out of control, Newport Beach Police Officer Tim Kooiman said.

The van then hit the boy, who had been walking with a surfboard under his arm, pinning him under the van’s right rear and dragging him 40 feet.

But the victim stood up on the scene afterward and suffered only scrapes and cuts and perhaps internal injuries, Kooiman said late Tuesday night, adding that details of his injuries are sketchy.

He said that the youth was listed in good condition at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and that Ortiz was held at Orange County Jail on suspicion of felony drunk driving.

Witnesses told police that the van swerved to the right and hit the left front wheel of the bus, which was halted at a bus stop, and that the van, which was traveling about 35 m.p.h., had made no effort to slow down, Kooiman said.

“It just plain started to weave,” he said.

The 12 passengers aboard the bus were not injured, he said, although the vehicle had to be taken out of service after the accident.

The pedestrian, meanwhile, is fortunate to be alive, Kooiman said: “To be hit by a van and dragged 40 feet, only to stand up after that, is very lucky. He was even happy that his surfboard only had a few scratches on it.”