Christmas Eve Takes a Tragic Turn in Newport Beach

I was listening to the fire department radio when this call came in. You could hear the seriousness of the situation in the voices of the responding firefighters. :

One person was dead Thursday evening after a Ferrari crashed into a tow truck in Newport Beach and burst into flames.

The accident happened on Pacific Coast highway at Bayside at 5:12 p.m.

Two people were trapped in the sports car.

One was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The other person in the Ferrari was extricated from the vehicle and taken to Western Regional Medical Center in critical condition with severe burns.

Two people in the tow truck suffered minor injuries.

PCH at Bayside will be closed for several hours while an investigation is underway.

The first report from a firefighter at the scene was he had two victims, one appears to be breathing, one doesn't. It was pretty clear this was going to be a bad one.

If you're traveling tonight or tomorrow, be safe.

UPDATE: A photo of what's left from The OC Register:

UPDATE: Another report from the LA Times:

One man was killed and another is clinging to life after their Ferrari jumped a center median on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach and crashed into a flatbed truck coming from the opposite direction.

The accident occurred about 5:15 p.m. today, resulting in an ongoing traffic closure shutting off Pacific Coast Highway between Bayshore Drive and Jamboree Road. The highway is likely to remain blocked for hours, said Sgt. Jerry Lowe of the Newport Beach Police Department.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused the Ferrari to spin out and then cross the center divider, which, in that section of the highway is either a raised curb or a median strip, said Sgt. Evan Sailor, public information officer for the Newport Beach police.

"The Ferrari broke into several pieces," Sailor said. "There's debris everywhere. The vehicle was engulfed in flames when the first officer arrived on the scene."

Eighteen firefighters from the Newport Beach Fire Department worked to douse the fire and rescue the two men trapped in the Ferrari

The passenger died at the scene. Rescue workers used special equipment to extract the driver. He was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he's listed in critical condition.

The two occupants of the truck were taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach to be treated for minor to moderate injuries.

UPDATE January 5: The driver was an 18-year old teenager who is still in critical condition:

Police have named the driver of a Ferrari that crashed Dec. 24 killing a passenger.

Luicci Nader, 18, of Huntington Beach, was the driver of the gray 2008 F-430 Spider that crashed into a tow truck, split in two, and caught fire, police said.

Alcohol was not involved but speed was.