5 dead, 2 hospitalized after car crashes into tree in Santa Ana
Five people were killed and a two others person were hospitalized when a car crashed into a tree in Santa Ana late Saturday.
The crash unfolded late Saturday on Segerstrom Avenue and Griset Place at approximately 11:30 p.m., at which point officers responded to reports of a solo vehicle collision. Upon arrival, they discovered a vehicle that had crashed into a tree.
The vehicle, occupied by six individuals—five females and one male driver—was traveling westbound on Griset at a high rate of speed before the fatal crash occurred. Four of the occupants were pronounced dead at the scene and a fifth died days after succumbing to injuries at the hospital.
In a press release on Wednesday, police said three of the passengers were ejected from the car during the crash, two of which were taken to a nearby hospital. One of those two victims, both teenagers, succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday morning, police said. She was identified as 13-year-old Cinthia Torres.
The other, a 15-year-old girl, is said to be in one of which is said to be stable condition.
Police say four of the occupants of the car were teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 17 years old. The 18-year-old male driver, identified as Emanuel Gonzalez Martinez, two teenage girls and a 20-year-old woman identified as Arely Robles were declared dead at the scene.
Two of the teenage victims was identified as 17-year-old Natalia Vidal Zarate and 16-year-old Jacqueline Torres Zarate.
Officer Garcia with the Santa Ana Police Department said the incident could potentially be related to DUI, but the investigation is ongoing.
The force of the collision was so great that debris from the car flew across the road and struck two other cars driving in the opposite direction. No one of those vehicles was injured, but both had to be towed from the scene.
On Monday, friends and family members of the victims gathered outside of a memorial that was placed on Segerstrom Avenue. Flowers and lit candles surrounded five white crosses honoring the victims.
Friends tell CBS News Los Angeles that the victims include two sets of sisters and a cousin. Some of the victims attended school at Carr Intermediate School and Valley High School.
Police previously reported that five people had died in the crash, but later clarified that two of the six occupants of the car were hospitalized following the crash.
