The victims – three girls and two boys – were students at two high schools in the Irvine Unified School District, said Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.
The Southern California high school students who died in a fiery car wreck on their way to the beach included a pair of sisters and best friends who bonded over their immigrant experiences, friends said Tuesday.
"There are simply no words to convey the sorrow felt by our students and staff, nor are there sufficient answers to explain the loss of five vibrant teenagers from our schools and this community," Irvine Unified School District Superintendent Terry Walker said in a statement.
The driver was identified as 17-year-old Abdulrahman Alyahyan, a
senior at University High School.
The passengers included 17-year-old Robin Cabrera, a senior at Irvine High School, and her 16-year-old sister Aurora, a sophomore at the same school.
Also killed in the Monday crash were Cecilia Zamora and Nozad Al Hamawendi, both 17-year-old juniors at Irvine High School.
Friends who gathered Tuesday outside Irvine High said the five were headed to the beach for a fun Memorial Day when the accident happened.
The Infiniti sedan veered off a road about 5:20 p.m. and hit a tree, said Kathy Lowe, Newport Beach police spokeswoman. The impact split the car and it caught fire, she said.
Four of the teens were thrown from the car and died immediately. The other was declared dead at a hospital.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The coroner had to use fingerprints to identify two of the bodies in what officials were calling one of the worst car accidents in Newport Beach in recent memory.
May their souls rest in peace.
0 comments:
Post a Comment