A group of teenagers and one young adult celebrating spring break was stacked in a Lexus sedan last Saturday night, then speeding up the residential area of Santa Ana.
The group consisted of one 20-year-old, including five teenagers and one sibling. All six lived in the same apartment. According to a spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department, the four can narrow down to the back of the car, allowing only five people to safely seat them.
The night ended with a disaster and a broken heart for the passengers’ families.
According to new details released by police, 18-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez Martinez was speeding up on Segars Strom Avenue between Leitt and Greenville Streets. He lost control of the car and hit a tree on the right side of the car.
Four people, including the driver, died at the scene, police spokesman Nina Garcia said. Cynthia Torres Zarate, another 13-year-old Kerr middle school student, was hospitalized and placed on life support before being declared brain dead. The teenager died of injuries on Wednesday. One person sitting at the back of the car survived.
Other passengers were identified as 17-year-old Natalia Vidal Zarate, 16-year-old Jacqueline Torres Zarate, and 20-year-old Ally Robles, 20-year-old Ally Robles, whose only survivor of the crash was 15-year-old Early Robles, 20-year-old.
“They stacked up more people than they have more people in this car,” Garcia said, adding that it was one of the “more serious” accidents her department saw. “It’s just a tragedy. The family is completely devastated.”
Police say an investigation into the crash fall is ongoing and authorities are trying to determine whether alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash.
Among the victims, four were volleyball high school students.
“The whole SAUSD community is being devastated by this unimaginable loss,” the Santa Ana Unified School District said in a statement.
“We express the deepest sadness of the victims’ families and loved ones. Our thoughts remain in two individuals who are recovering,” according to the statement.
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