Emerald Bay : Victim of Fatal Crash Was Newport Girl, 16
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A girl who was killed in a flaming, head-on collision on Coast Highway was identified Monday as Valerie Hacker, 16, of Newport Beach, authorities said.
The girl died of injuries suffered in the fire caused by the Sunday night traffic collision, Orange County Deputy Coroner C. Ellingburgh said.
The accident occurred when a Jeep Wagoneer traveling south on Coast Highway veered to avoid hitting a car coming from an exit road in the affluent, seaside Emerald Bay community. Authorities said the Jeep driver pulled into the opposite lane to avoid the collision, but hit a BMW headed northbound.
Hacker was in the Jeep, as were two other injured people, according to police. The driver of the BMW was also injured in the crash, which sparked a fire that spread to a house and closed the road to traffic for half an hour.
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