Friends and family grieve fathers killed in Granite Bay car crash
GRANITE BAY - Family and friends are grieving the sudden loss of four men, killed in a single-vehicle crash in Granite Bay Wednesday night.
Candles are now lit at the crash site to honor the memory of the men killed, and people gave each other hugs to help heal the shock over their sudden loss.
"We can just pray, for them," Apeet Hundal said.
People who knew the four friends, all fathers, came one after another in disbelief.
"I can't say enough about him, he's a fantastic man and that's why I'm here tonight," Kevin Hilton said.
"I just wanted to come out here for the families, say a quick prayer, and I just wanted to give them my heart," Ben Straw said.
The CHP has confirmed the identities of all the victims.
Passengers Paul Hammack, 53, Karan Pannu, 45, and Patrick Gainer, 65, along with driver Jerry Cepel, 61.
The white Mercedes Benz plowed into several trees on East Roseville Parkway at 9 p.m. Wednesday, before bursting into flames. Everyone died on the scene.
CBS13 has learned the men had been at a nearby restaurant and bar prior to the crash, and the impact occurred just a block from the Granite Bay Country Club where they were all members.
Cindy Schlenz lives next door to the crash scene and says the sound of the impact was like nothing she's heard before.
"And I don't even know if the house shook, but it did not sound like a car crash at all," Schlenz said. "There wasn't any, like, breaking or anything that you would hear and then a crash. There was just, it was just instantly the biggest boom."
Now a community is in mourning.
"You know, these were dads, you know they're dads in our community, and I'm a dad, and it just hit me knowing that four dads were lost," Bill Reynolds said.
The CHP is leading the investigation. They say at this point it's unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.