Two teenagers are dead and one is hospitalized with serious injuries after a suspected drunk driving crash in Riverside on Saturday, authorities confirmed.
According to Riverside Police, police were called around 5:40 a.m. to reports of an accident on Wood Road, north of Van Buren Boulevard.
Emergency crews arrived and found one of the two involved vehicles on fire. After extinguishing the fire, police said they found two people dead inside.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the car that caught fire was a gray Lexus sedan with three teenagers in it, and the other car was a blue Scion with an adult man in it. Ta. Police have not released any of their identities.
An investigation revealed that a 17-year-old boy ran a red light on Van Buren Boulevard and was speeding in a Lexus northbound on Wood Road.
The man driving the Scion tried to cross eastbound at the intersection when the light was green and collided with the Lexus.
After the crash, the Lexus continued north, hitting a cement utility pole, a wooden utility pole, and then a tree before coming to a stop and catching fire.
After the fire was extinguished, the driver of the sedan, a 17-year-old woman, and an 18-year-old woman were found dead. The other passenger, a 17-year-old male, was found with serious injuries and taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said.
The adult driver of the Scion was not injured and remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators.
This photo, taken after two teenagers were killed and one seriously injured in a suspected drunk-driving crash in Riverside, shows debris and a destroyed car. November 2024. (Riverside Police Department) This photo taken after two teens were killed and one seriously injured in a crash involving a suspected drunk driver in Riverside shows debris and a destroyed car. November 2024 (Riverside Police Department)
Police said the identities of the two teens who died in the crash will be released by the coroner’s office pending notification of their families.
“Alcohol and drugs are suspected to be factors in this collision, as well as the speed of the vehicle,” Riverside police wrote in a statement.
The department is asking anyone with additional information regarding this crash to contact Traffic Detective Amanda Beeman at 951-826-8723 or ABeeman@RiversideCA.gov.
