Mixed up in accident

The driver of a cement mixer was hospitalized Friday afternoon after he bailed out of his truck moments before it careened off the edge of the northbound 73 Freeway offramp at Newport Coast Drive.

Authorities said that the truck smashed through the guard rail and went over the edge about 11:30 a.m., tumbling 75 feet down the hill and coming to a rest upside down.

“I don’t think the guardrail even slowed it down,” said California Highway Patrol Deputy Gabe Montoya. “It doesn’t look much like a cement truck anymore.”

The driver, who managed to get out of the truck before it went over, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, officials said.

It took six hours and four of the county’s largest tow trucks to turn over the vehicle, Montoya said. The cement mixing bowl was separated from the truck, he said.

Authorities are investigating what caused the crash.

— Joseph Serna