A group of adolescents and a young adult, celebrating the spring holidays, piled up in a Lexus sedan last Saturday evening before accelerating in a residential street in Santa Ana.
The group was made up of five teenagers and a 20 -year -old child, including two series of brothers and sisters. All six lived in the same building. Four managed to sneak in the back of the car, which can accommodate a total of only five safely, according to a spokesperson for the Santa Ana police department.
The night ended with a disaster and a sorrow for the passenger family.
According to new details published by the police, around 11:25 p.m., the driver, Emanuel Gonzalez Martinez, 18, accelerated on Segerstrom avenue between the Raitt and Greenville streets. He lost control of the car and hit a tree on the right side of the car.
Four people, whose driver, died on the scene, said police spokesperson Nina Garcia. Another student of the 13 -year -old intermediary school, Cynthia Torres Zarate, was hospitalized and put in life before being declared dead from the brain. The teenager died from her injuries on Wednesday. A person, who was sitting at the back of the car, survived.
The other passengers were identified by officials and families like Natalia Vidal Zarate, 17, Jacqueline Torres Zarate, 16, and Arely Robles, 20, whose sister, Arlene Robles, 15, was the only survivor of the accident.
“They stood up in more people in this car they should have,” said Garcia, adding that it was one of the “more serious” accidents that his department saw. “It’s just a tragedy. Families are completely devastated. ”
The investigation into the accident is underway and officials are trying to determine whether alcohol or drugs have played a role in the collision, police said.
Among the victims, four were students from Valley High School.
Santa Ana’s unified school district said in a statement that “the whole Sausd community was devastated by this unimaginable loss”.
“We extend our deepest condolences to families and their loved ones from the victims, and our thoughts remain with the two people who recover,” said the press release.
California Daily Newspapers
