One Killed When Car Hits Couch on Freeway

A Black Couch Laying in the Middle of the Southbound I-5 Freeway Sunday Night Caused a Multi-Car Accident Which Left One Man Dead, and Two Others Injured

Investigators were trying to find out how a couch got into the middle of the 5 Freeway in the City of Orange, causing a fatal accident.

Just before 9:30 on Sunday night, a Toyota Corolla driven by Ryo Kosuge, 20, from Irvine, was traveling about 65 mph on the southbound 5 Freeway when he saw a black couch blocking the lane.

Kosuge hit the brakes but was unable to avoid slamming into the couch. He then lost control of the Corolla and crashed into the left rear end of a 2000 GMC Safari, the Orange County Register reported.

The driver of the SUV lost control and the vehicle flipped. A passenger in the GMC Safari, 30-year-old Manuel Ortiz-Torres, of Santa Ana, was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the SUV, a 52-year-old Santa Ana woman, was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with minor injuries, the Orange County Register reported.

Authorities are still searching for the owner of the couch, but according to the Orange County Register, it’s not clear if they would be liable for the crash.

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