IRVINE : Traffic Crash Fatal to 2 UCI Students

Two UC Irvine students were fatally hurt just after noon Thursday when their compact car crossed a double center line on Campus Drive and crashed head-on into a freight truck, police said.

The students were identified as Abbette Rodriguez, 19, of Oceanside and Ritika Rajasanhsi, also 19, of Fremont, according to the county coroner’s office.

Both women, who were suite mates on the UCI campus, had to be cut out of the car they were riding in, Lt. Sam Allevato said.

The car came to rest in the westbound lane of Campus Drive, in the marshy area between University Drive and Jamboree Road, not far from the campus.

Rajasanhsi, who was a passenger in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene. Rodriguez, the driver, died 1 1/2 hours later at Irvine Medical Center, Allevato said.

Rajasanhsi was studying social sciences, and Rodriguez was studying physical sciences. Both were freshmen.

The driver of the truck, which came to rest in the eastbound bicycle lane, was not injured.

Police said that the cause of the accident was under investigation but that it did not appear that drugs or alcohol were a factor.