Local News in Brief : Laguna Hills : Woman Killed, Sister Hurt in Car Crash

A 33-year-old woman was killed and her sister injured Wednesday afternoon when their car struck a road divider in Laguna Hills and rolled over several times, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

Susan Chappell of Laguna Hills was dead upon arrival at Saddleback Hospital, according to CHP Officer Ken Daily. Her sister, identified as Harriett E. Carey, 40, of Laguna Hills was in stable condition in the same hospital, Daily said.

Chappell was driving south at 35 to 40 m.p.h. on Moulton Parkway, Daily said. Her sister, in the front passenger seat, held a small dog in her lap. Carey told police that Chappell looked over at her and the dog, and the car drifted left, striking a curb around a landscaped center divider.

Daily said the car hit a tree, then rolled over two or three times, landing upside down. Chappell was thrown into the southbound lane.

“She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt,” Daily said. “That’s what killed her. She was not driving at an excessive speed. It was a case of not paying attention and not wearing a seatbelt.”

Carey, he added, was wearing a seat belt.