2 Die, 2 Hurt in Crash After Holiday Service

Two women were killed and a third seriously injured Monday when their van was broadsided while leaving an Orange cemetery after a Memorial Day service.

Mary Flores, 46, of San Clemente and Mary Elliott, 73, of Lake Forest died about 11:30 a.m. just outside the gates of Holy Sepulcher Cemetery on Santiago Canyon Road, police said.

The women were turning left onto Santiago Canyon in the GMC van when a Jeep Cherokee slammed into them, causing the van to roll several times.

The third woman in the van, Miriam Elliott, 76, of Orange, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where she was in serious condition undergoing surgery, said Sgt. Dave Hill, an Orange police spokesman.

“It’s pretty ironic and tragic that they were leaving a Memorial Day service,” Hill said.

The driver of Jeep Cherokee, Brian Wright, 30, of Orange, was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange with minor injuries.

Police said neither car appeared to be speeding and there was no evidence of alcohol being involved.

“It was such a severe crash that it shook everything up inside the van,” Hill said. He said an investigation was continuing.