The engines of approximately 30 classic cars revved outside Eat Chow restaurant Saturday morning as a group of Eric Doran's closest friends prepared for a ride down Pacific Coast Highway to commemorate Doran's passing.
Doran, a Newport Beach resident and co-owner of Eat Chow in Costa Mesa, died in Thousand Oaks on May 27, 2011 when a truck rear-ended his classic Model A Roadster as Doran slowed for construction on the 101 Freeway at about 5:16 a.m. He died at the scene.
Pelle Klein, Doran's friend, organized Saturday's event for the second year in a row. The group made the same cruise last year following Doran's passing. On Saturday, the parade of cars traveled from Newport Beach to Seal Beach and back.
"This would have been No. 1 on his list of things that he would have appreciated the most," said Brian McReynolds, Doran's business partner at Eat Chow. "He was up for anything, no matter how crazy it sounded, and he had a love for life."