Two people were killed and a third was hospitalized early Tuesday after a crash at the intersection of Bushard Street and Slater Avenue in Fountain Valley, near Fountain Valley High School. Both victims had been riding in a Nissan Kicks that collided with a Ford Flex at the intersection, and police say the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the Fountain Valley Police Department said the crash was reported just after 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. KTLA reported that officers actually responded to the scene around 4:36 a.m., while MyNewsLA cited the Metro Cities Fire Authority in putting the report time at 4:39 a.m. — slightly different timestamps from different sources, though all point to the same pre-dawn collision.
A preliminary investigation found the Nissan was traveling eastbound on Slater Avenue while the Ford was headed northbound on Bushard Street when the two vehicles crashed at the intersection, per KTLA’s reporting. Both occupants inside the Nissan were pronounced dead at the scene. Police described the deceased as a man and a woman but have not released their names, saying identification is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Ford Driver Hospitalized, Intersection Shut Down
The Ford driver, who was the only person in that vehicle, was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, NBC Los Angeles reported. The intersection was closed to traffic during the emergency response and investigation, according to the same MyNewsLA report that cited fire officials on the timing of the call.
Fountain Valley police said the cause of the collision is still under investigation and that it is unknown at this time whether either driver was impaired. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information is asked to contact the Fountain Valley Police Department’s Traffic Bureau at 714-593-4481 and reference case DR# 26-36679.
A Pattern of Deadly Crashes in Fountain Valley
Tuesday’s collision is not the only fatal crash to hit the city’s roadways in recent years. In September 2025, a driver was killed and a passenger seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash in Fountain Valley, with the Orange County Register reporting that police said drugs may have been a contributing factor, though the exact cause remained under investigation.
A separate collision after a possible chase in Fountain Valley killed at least one person and injured multiple others, according to ABC7. And in February 2023, a man died in a two-car crash at Euclid Street and Slater Avenue — just blocks from Tuesday’s scene — which the Los Angeles Times reported happened at 4:52 p.m. that Sunday, according to the Fountain Valley Police Department. The evidence does not establish a broader citywide crash trend, but the cases underscore that this is not the first time investigators in Fountain Valley have had to piece together how a fatal collision unfolded.
No further details have been released about what led to Tuesday’s crash, and the investigation into the cause remains ongoing.
