Franz Nalezny, a 22-year-old student at Cal State Fullerton, died instantly Friday night when he lost control of his Mazda3 Hatchback and crashed into the side of a Coto De Caza home. California Highway Patrol authorities say that Franz was driving at a high speed on Vista Del Verde, a main road in the community, when his car struck a curb and became airborne, launching 50 feet in the air before hitting a tree and landing on the wall of a home on Cherry Hills Drive. The car scraped the building, but did not injure the residents – a mother and a daughter, who were inside watching TV at the time of the crash.
Franz was not far from his family’s home on Lexington Way, where he spent most of his weekends away from his college dorm. Crash scene investigators are still establishing what exactly caused the accident, as there are no skid marks on the road, or obvious signs as to what caused the car to lose control. There is still no word on whether alcohol was involved. The car remained perched on the wall of the home for several hours until an Orange County rescue team arrived with a crane to lower the car.
Coto de Caza update – 22 yr. old male driver died. A crane had to pull his vehicle from the top of the wall.
— OCFA PIO (@OCFA_PIO) February 1, 2014
“We’re really trying to encourage people to slow down,” Orange County Sheriff Concialdi said. “Crashes can happen easily if you’re not paying attention.”
This crash isn’t the first major accident to affect the Coto de Caza community. Rianna Woosley, a local high school student, was killed back in 2005 when she lost control of her vehicle and hit a tree. Residents of the community have reportedly struggled for years with speeding on their private roads, which has posted speed limits of only up to 45mph.
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