Fatal crash remains under investigation

A March 23 crash that killed a Huntington Beach man remained under investigation Wednesday.

Michael Kazak, 34, was a passenger in a car that struck a tree on Warner Avenue near Algonquin Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene after police and paramedics responded to the accident shortly before 2 a.m., officials said.

Coroner’s officials determined the cause of death was blunt-force trauma. Robert Lee Hoover, the car’s driver, was arrested on suspicion of drunk-driving and vehicular manslaughter.

Hoover was driving the vehicle westbound on Warner Avenue when he lost control, veering onto the sidewalk and into a tree on the north side of the street.

The Mercedes Response Center called the police to let the department know they had an emergency signal coming from the blue 2006 Mercedes Benz.

Hoover, 30, of Huntington Beach, was taken to the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange. He has since been released from the hospital, officials said.

Hoover was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Police said they have not yet received the results of a toxicology screening.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call the Huntington Beach Police at (714) 536-5666.