At least 3 of 5 dead in California freeway crash were teenagers
The cause of the crash was still under investigation.
Three of the five people who died in a single-car crash on the northbound 710 Freeway early Monday were identified as Long Beach teenagers by the coroner’s office on Tuesday, June 27.
The three identified were: Angel Gabriel Sextos, 18; George Dobbs, 15; and Ariahh Slemaker, 15.
The other two were not yet publicly identified. A sixth person remained hospitalized on Tuesday.
California Highway Patrol officials were investigating what caused the crash, said Officer Angelia Gonzales, a CHP spokesperson. Investigators were looking into whether surveillance cameras captured the 2011 Hyundai as it entered the northbound lanes.
Dashcam footage provided to ABC7 Los Angeles shows the car ram head-on into plastic cylinders protecting a divider separating the northbound 710 Freeway lanes and a ramp to the eastbound 91 Freeway. After impact, the car briefly goes airborne and then bursts into flames.
The crash was first reported shortly before 4:15 a.m., with Long Beach firefighters extinguishing the blaze.
At least four of the car’s occupants were not wearing seatbelts, CHP officials said, and some may have been ejected after the impact.