Driver Killed in Big-Rig Accident on Pacific Coast Highway

By City News Service

A driver was killed early today when he slammed his car into a big-rig stopped in the median on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.

The crash occurred around 2:45 a.m. in the 2100 block of West Pacific Coast Highway, said Long Beach police Sgt. David Marander.

Julio Romero Santillan, 62, of West Covina, died at the scene, according to Marander and coroner's Lt. Fred Corral. The 67-year-old Los Angeles man driving the big rig was not injured, Marander said.

According to the preliminary investigation, Santillan was driving a 1997 Chevrolet Lumina east on Pacific Coast Highway at an estimated speed of at least 35 mph when the car veered to the left and hit the front of a westbound big rig that was stopped on the center ``shared'' turning lane, about to turn left to go into a service station, Marander said.

The crash prompted the closure of the eastbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway for several hours, but two-way traffic was kept moving through the area on the highway's westbound side, Marander said.