Santa Ana: Orange County Register Editor Killed In Fiery Street Racing Crash

07.30.2020 | 11:45 AM | SANTA ANA – A longtime newspaper editor was killed when a vehicle involved in a street race lost control and crashed into his truck, Thursday afternoon.

Authorities responded to reports of a traffic collision with fire near the intersection of Bristol Street and Santa Clara Avenue around 11:45 AM.

Units arriving on scene located a silver BMW sedan that had crashed into a black Ford Ranger that become engulfed in flames.

Bystanders and a police officer pulled the driver of the pickup truck, later identified as 67-year-old Eugene Harbrecht, from the burning vehicle.

Firefighter paramedics rushed Harbrecht to UCI Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

The driver of the BMW, later identified as Louie Robert Villa, was also transported to an area hospital. The extent of his injuries were unclear but he is expected to face charges of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.

Witnesses reported that Villa was street racing with an Infiniti when he struck the Harbrecht’s pickup truck.

The driver of the Infiniti fled the scene but was later located and arrested. He was identified as Ricardo Tolento Navarro of Santa Ana and is expected to face charges of vehicular manslaughter.

Harbrecht was a veteran editor for the Southern California News Group. He began his work there in 1984 and was most recently the national and international news editor for the Orange County Register.

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