Alex Martinez Memorial Fund Starts After Freak Car Accident at His Tutoring Center: Update

See Update No. 4 at the bottom of Page 2 with details about a memorial fund send up for Alex Martinez's family. His death in revealed in Update No. 3 on the same page. Update No. 2 on the next page has the driver's name and the car he was driving. Update No. 1 has more details on the accident and victims.

ORIGINAL POST, AUG. 19, 1:43 P.M.: Five people were injured, including one person who went into cardiac arrest, after a vehicle went out of control near Brookhurst Street and Ellis Avenue in Fountain Valley this afternoon and drove into a strip-mall business.

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It appears from KTLA/Channel 5's camera in a helicopter overhead that the vehicle wound up in either a tutoring center or a smoke shop.

The incident has shut down about a half block of Ellis.

More details as they come.

UPDATE NO. 1, AUG. 19, 2:54 P.M.: The accident reported at 12:27 p.m. today did indeed cause the car to enter the Tutoring Club, 9985 Ellis Ave., Fountain Valley, where some rescuers had to pull victims out from under the vehicle.

Men ages 20 and 32 were rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries, according to authorities, who identified the driver as a 76-year-old Huntington Beach man who was also hospitalized with minor injuries.

Two 15-year-old boys and a 67-year-old woman were treated for minor injuries.

The accident's cause is still under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call the Fountain Valley Police Traffic Bureau at 714.593.4481.

UPDATE NO. 2, AUG. 19, 4:28 P.M.: Fountain Valley Police have identified the driver of a 2011 Buick sedan that slammed into an Ellis Avenue building as Peter Hauk, 76, of Huntington Beach.

The Buick crashed through the plate glass windows and kept going into the rear wall, trapping two men aged 20 and 32 under the 2011 Buick sedan, according to Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Kurt Ulrich.

They were the victims most seriously injured. The younger man suffered serious injuries and the other man's injuries were considered life-threatening, Ulrich reportedly told City News Service.

It took three or four minutes to free the trapped men, who were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and UCI Medical Center in Orange. The other four people hurt, including Hauk, were taken to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital.

Hauk has not been charged with any crime, but the investigation continues.
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UPDATE NO. 3, AUG. 21, 3:35 P.M.: The 32-year-old man seriously injured in Monday afternoon's car collision into a Fountain Valley tutoring business has died from his injuries, according to police.

He was identified as Alex Martinez of Huntington Beach.

The Orange County Register reports a vigil will be held tonight in Martinez's honor in front of the Tutoring Club, where he taught youths math, science, English and SAT prep for seven years.

UPDATE NO. 4, AUG. 22, 10:45 A.M.: A memorial fund has been started in Alex Martinez's name for his family:

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

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