Jamboree Road

Marisa O'Neil A Laguna Beach man died Tuesday after an SUV broadsided his convertible on Jamboree Road. The crash occurred at about 2:20 p.m. at the intersection of Jamboree Road and Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman said. Police would not release the man's name until his family was notified, but Orange County supervising deputy coroner Joseph Luckey identified him as a 64-year-old resident of Laguna Beach. Martha Lopez, a 35-year-old Tustin resident driving the silver 2002 Isuzu Rodeo that hit the man's car, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana in stable condition after the accident, Shulman said.

An 85-year-old woman who was reported missing has been found, police said. Carol Ann Morrow was found about 11 a.m. near Jamboree Road and University Drive, not far from her East Bluff home, by a lifeguard who was driving in the area, said Newport police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe. Police were searching for Morrow since she went missing about 10 p.m. Monday from her home in the 2800 block of Catalpa Street, Lowe said Tuesday. —Lauren Williams

Major construction on widening the streets near Jamboree Road and MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach should begin by October, city officials said. Thanks to a $3.65-million payment into Newport Beach city coffers within the next 20 days from Irvine, the face of the Jamboree Road corridor just south of the 73 Freeway will begin to change. The money is part of a settlement between Newport Beach and Irvine. Newport Beach was suing Irvine, claiming its environmental study for its Irvine Business Complex, that includes 15,000 residential units, did not adequately address the affects it would have on local traffic, specifically near Jamboree and MacArthur.

BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Nail spill closes Jamboree Road A nail spill closed the intersection of Jamboree Road and Bison Avenue for about an hour Tuesday morning, officials said. The spill was reported at about 11:40 a.m. on both sides of the roadway, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman. "Traffic was not stopped and we didn't have any punctured tires as a result of the spill," he said. But it did take about 40 minutes for the street to be cleaned.

A woman who fell off a building near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road has died, authorities said. Mary Baird-Darmer, 47 of Newport Beach, fell from a building in the 19000 block of MacArthur Boulevard about 11:30 a.m. Friday and was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where she died, according to the Orange County coroner's office. Baird-Darmer's death appeared to be a suicide, officials said, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined.

A Riverside woman is scheduled to face charges today that she seriously injured a bicyclist with her car and kept going while driving down Jamboree Road in Newport Beach on Wednesday morning. Patricia Ann Izquieta, 37, was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony hit and run after police said her car struck Donald Murphy, 49, of Irvine, on Jamboree Road north of Ford Road about 6 a.m. Authorities said Murphy was following bicycle safety laws and was wearing a helmet as he rode northbound on Jamboree Road along the easterly curb.

Corona del Mar coach will appear on TV Corona del Mar John Emme and his attorney, David Shores, will appear on "Good Morning America" some time between 7 and 9 a.m. today. The two will discuss a lawsuit that parent Marc Martinez brought against Emme in July 2001 claiming that Emme ruined his son's chances of playing college baseball. The complaint said the coach made J.D. Martinez pitch too many innings, leading to a damaged arm. That lawsuit has been thrown out. Jamboree Road construction begins Roadwork began this week on Jamboree Road between Bison Avenue and University Drive and could continue through the first week in October.

An unidentified man in a car stolen from Las Vegas was found dead on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach after he apparently crashed the car and shot himself, police said. Newport Beach police saw the car, a 2006 Ford Mustang with paper tags, driving at a high speed near MacArthur Boulevard and Bison Avenue around 8 p.m. Sunday. They lost sight of the car but found it again in the southbound lanes of Jamboree Road near Camelback Road, where it had hit the center median, police said.

A woman who fell off a building near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road has died, authorities said. Mary Baird-Darmer, 47 of Newport Beach, fell from a building in the 19000 block of MacArthur Boulevard about 11:30 a.m. Friday and was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where she died, according to the Orange County coroner's office. Baird-Darmer's death appeared to be a suicide, officials said, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined.

A woman who reportedly jumped or fell off a building near MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road was declared dead Friday, authorities said. Authorities received a call for medical aid in the 19000 block of MacArthur at 11:30 a.m. Friday, said Irvine Police Department spokeswoman Lt. Julia Engen. The woman, described as in her 40s, was declared dead at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana after falling off a building nearGoogle'sIrvine office in what appeared to be a suicide, said Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Kris Concepcion.

Newport Beach firefighters responded to 20 emergency calls Sunday, including a multivehicle collision and residential fires. Firefighters went to a crash about 3:46 p.m. Sunday on Jamboree Road involving multiple vehicles, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Fire Department. One person was transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, although the patient's condition was unknown as of Monday. A smoking oven about 30 minutes later sent firefighters to Balboa Island, where an apartment in the 300 block of Marine Avenue was filled with smoke, according to the release.

Spinal surgery need no longer inhibit Orange County residents' active lifestyles with the arrival of minimally invasive surgery options, say the directors of a multiple-service care facility opening next month in Newport Beach. "People used to think of spine surgery as a final death blow to their activity level," said Dr. Burak Ozgur, a neurosurgeon trained in minimally invasive spine surgery. "People used to fear that they would always have low mobility or never play sports again, but that is totally untrue now. " The Marina del Rey-based D.I.S.C.

As Newport Beach plans for residential development to the east of John Wayne Airport, the city has launched a number of road construction projects in the area. One major project that broke ground in June is the widening of the Jamboree Road bridge over the 73 Freeway. Commuters in the area may drive more freely in coming years, as the city works to avoid projected congestion. Newport Beach approved about 1,500 condos or apartments just north of there, and developers continue to build out the Jamboree Road Corridor in Irvine.

An 85-year-old woman who was reported missing has been found, police said. Carol Ann Morrow was found about 11 a.m. near Jamboree Road and University Drive, not far from her East Bluff home, by a lifeguard who was driving in the area, said Newport police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe. Police were searching for Morrow since she went missing about 10 p.m. Monday from her home in the 2800 block of Catalpa Street, Lowe said Tuesday. —Lauren Williams

A driver whose SUV struck and killed a bicyclist from Irvine in a December 2009 hit-and-run accident in Newport Beach received a three-year state prison sentence Friday, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. Patricia Ann Izquieta, 38, of Riverside, pleaded guilty Feb. 1 at Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana to charges of felony hit-and-run, causing death or injury, felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated without gross negligence, and misdemeanor driving without a license with an enhancement for causing great bodily injury, a news release said.

His funeral at Crystal Cathedral drew thousands of friends and fans. People talked about how his ambition forced him to risk it all, leaving his job as a sheriff's deputy to sell TapouT shirts out of the back of his car. No one had even heard of his brand back then. Now it's a $50-million company. When Huntington Beach resident Charles "Mask" Lewis was killed in a Newport Beach car crash in March 2009, fans of mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship league and TapouT were devastated.

Sometimes it's hard to imagine 20 years down the road. Will the Back Bay be dredged? The Great Park built? In three decades the city of Newport Beach foresees gridlock, especially at the intersection of Jamboree Road and the 73 Freeway. City leaders envision so many red taillights that they want to widen the road there. But to do that, they must build on private property. Karen Dabby and her husband, Frank, own some of that property, and they're not buying the city's argument.

It's one of the tidiest stretches of road in Newport Beach. On one end, Mercedes-Benz hoods gleam in the Fletcher Jones Motorcars lot. On the other, a gated condo development looms from behind tall palms. Jamboree Road, with its wide lanes, absence of retail development and speeding cars, is one of the last places you'd expect to see someone hanging out on the corner. Especially if that man is homeless. For the past month or so, Nate Meador, 50, has been leaning against Jamboree lampposts between MacArthur Boulevard and Coast Highway.