Deepa Bharath
NEWPORT-MESA -- Torrential rain and wind gusts Wednesday night and
early Thursday caused a fatal accident in Newport Beach, churned out a
funnel cloud over Newport Harbor, sent several boats adrift from their
moorings and caused minor damage to homes and roads in Costa Mesa.
Monica Lee Haig, 44, of Irvine died of a cardiac arrest shortly after
she lost control of her 1993 Mazda Miata and crashed into a light pole at
MacArthur Boulevard and Ford Road, officials said. It was raining at the
time of the collision, police said.
Haig had to be extracted from the car, which was totaled. She was
taken to Hoag Hospital and declared dead in the emergency room. There was
no one else in the car with Haig, and she was wearing her seat belt at
the time of the collision, police said.
An investigation continues, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve
Shulman.
"There were no skid marks on the street because of the rain," he said.
That makes it hard to determine what caused Haig to lose control of the
vehicle.
It's been an "interesting couple of days" for Orange County Sheriff's
Harbor Patrol deputies, said Harbor Master Capt. Marty Kasules.
A funnel cloud was spotted moving through Newport Harbor 200 feet
above the ground.
"Fortunately it didn't touch down," he said. "The threat is gone now."
Tornadoes aside, six deputies, double the usual number, patrolled the
seas, bringing back more than half a dozen boats that broke away from
their moorings. The most serious damage was caused by a 65-foot sailboat
that rammed into a boat half its size.
"The damage was considerable," Kasules said.
Wednesday night saw some powerful winds gusting at 40 to 50 miles an
hour, he added, and he expects "more to come."
Costa Mesa experienced tree travails and pothole troubles after the
lengthy downpour, said Bill Morris, the city's public service director.
Two large potholes on Newport Boulevard near 18th Street gaped at
commuters Thursday morning. The city reported the potholes to Caltrans,
which is responsible for road repairs in that area, Morris said.
The rain also brought down a large tree on Iowa Street, near Gisler
Avenue, causing damage to a home's garage. Branches and tree limbs
snapped off elsewhere, but no damage was caused and nobody was hurt in
any of those incidents, Morris said.
The city, anticipating flooding problems, worked Wednesday to ensure
all inlets to storm drains were clear of tree branches and debris, he
added.
Newport Beach officials, who had feared flooding in the coastal areas,
