Vigil Held In Burbank For 3 Students Killed In Santa Clarita Rollover Crash
BURBANK (CBSLA.com) — A vigil for three friends killed in a single-car rollover crash in Santa Clarita was held Friday evening in Burbank.
The early morning crash left three dead and two injured. All five victims were recent graduates of John Burroughs High School; all but one was a Burbank resident.
The five were riding in a pickup that rolled about 200 feet down an embankment around 2 a.m. Friday morning. Authorities learned about the deadly accident around 7:30 a.m. when one of the victims regained consciousness and was able to use his cellphone to call for help.
KCAL9's Brittney Hopper attended the vigil, where everyone expressed the same disbelief.
One crash, countless lives destroyed or changed.
"It's so hard to believe," said friend after friend.
Loved ones and friends mourned the loss of the three deceased now identified as driver Ian Bulbenko, April Townsend and Jake Gnasso, all 19 and from Burbank.
The hospitalized, both 19, were listed as Burbank resident Zachary Maina and Timothy Gorman of Sunland.
"We all grew up with each other it's. It's devastating," said another friend.
"We're in shock," said another.
The group was off-roading in the Rush Canyon area in Santa Clarita when CHP says the Bulbenko missed a turn and rolled down the embankment.
Friends told Hopper that four of the five students were part of the traveling choir group at Burroughs High.
"It brings Burbank a lot closer, but the loss is just horrible," said a friend.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to the CHP.
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