Local Teens Killed On The Way To A Dance

Boy, I hate these kinds of stories:

A carload of teens headed to a JSerra High School dance flipped over Thursday night on the San Joaquin Hills (73) Toll Road, killing a boy and a girl and seriously injuring four other youths.

The crash occurred about 7:10 p.m. when the driver, a 16-year-old San Juan Capistrano girl, lost control on the northbound tollway near Newport Coast Drive, police said.

"A passenger ... attempted to correct by turning back toward the No. 1 lane, and the vehicle rolled over several times," California Highway Patrol officer Chris Johnson said.

Three people were ejected.

I hate this story on a number of levels. For one thing, I take this road to my office two or three days a week, so I'll be passing the spot where this happened quite often. But more importantly, I have a 16 year old daughter and I can't imagine the loss it would bring if she was suddently gone in an accident like this. These kids were also from local high schools which will hit the community hard.

As is often the case with youth driving accidents, it didn't need to happen. From the reporting it sounds like the 16 year old driver was distracted by dropping something in the car, and another kid grabbed the wheel when the car started to drift into the median. The TV pictures showed the vehicle to be some type of SUV, and those cars don't react well to yanking the wheel in the opposite direction. The result was multiple high speed rollovers.

I've got some questions that I'm sure the CHP will be asking:

1. How fast were they going? That particular stretch of road is at the bottom of a very long hill and I often see cars going in excess of 80.
2. Had the 16 year old driver completed the required 6 month probation period during which she would not be allowed to carry non-family member passengers? That's an incredibly good law, but often ignored.
3. How many of the kids were wearing seatbelts? At least three were ejected, which rarely happens if seatbelts are worn.

I'm glad to hear that there apparently wasn't any alcohol involved, though it won't make it any easier for the families of the victims. This is one of those poignant reminders of how fast life can go from thrills and excitement to tragedy.

UPDATE: From the LA Times, the car was traveling about 70 MPH and the vehicle was an Isuzu Rodeo.

UPDATE2: From the Register:

The two teenagers killed in an SUV rollover on the San Joaquin Hills (73) Toll Road were not wearing seat belts, and that likely contributed to their deaths, the California Highway Patrol said today.