A Laguna Beach man suffered major injuries in a three-car pileup Monday morning that backed up the 5 freeway between San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente for about an hour.
According to the California Highway Patrol, at about 8:40 a.m., Evan Popelar, 22, was headed north in a Datsun 240Z, about a half a mile from San Juan Creek, when he ran into a Mercedes that had slowed because of traffic. The force pushed the Mercedes into a Dodge Neon in front of it.
Although CHP spokesman Chris Goodwin could not reveal the type of injuries Popelar sustained, Monday's radio reports told of head trauma. He was taken to Mission Hospital for treatment.
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While Orange County Fire Department and other emergency crews worked in the area, traffic also bottlenecked on Camino Capistrano.
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