Turning Two Cars Into Four Cars

We had two new entries in one night in our "Teen Drivers+Speed+Immovable Objects" category. First, from Orange County:

TUSTIN - One teenager is dead and another was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence after a violent crash on Newport Avenue early Thursday morning, authorities said.

When officers from the California Highway Patrol arrived at the scene of the crash at about 2:40 a.m., they found the 1998 Mercedes-Benz that a 17-year-old boy had been driving sheared in half, said CHP officer Jennifer Hink.

Mackenzie Frazee, a 16-year-old Tustin resident who was a passenger in the car, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where she died from her injuries. The driver of the car is being treated for moderate injuries at the same hospital and is expected to be booked at Juvenile Hall, Hink said.

And, from Eagle Rock:

A suspected street race Wednesday night in Eagle Rock killed three people, including a pregnant woman and her teenage sister, after their car was struck by another vehicle, slammed into a tree and burst into flames, police said.

Rostislav Shnayder, 19, of Eagle Rock, who was driving a white Mitsubishi Eclipse, was later arrested and booked on suspicion of murder in connection with the accident.

He was uninjured.

Los Angeles Police Department Det. Felix Padilla, who is investigating the crash, said three cars were seen speeding westbound on Colorado Boulevard when the Mitsubishi collided with a black Nissan Maxima, causing it to slam into the tree. He said officials were searching for the third vehicle, described only as a "small white car."

Witnesses said the cars were traveling at "dangerous" speeds, Padilla said. "We're going by witness accounts that the cars were racing," he said.

The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Highland View Avenue. The Mitsubishi, traveling about 70 mph, appeared to lose control and hit the Nissan traveling in front of it, police said. Five people were in the Nissan.

The Nissan's driver, Cristyn Nicole Cordova, 19, and her sister, Toni Marie Cordova, 16, both of Eagle Rock, were killed instantly, said Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Police earlier incorrectly gave the ages of the female victims as 23 and 12. The coroner's office confirmed their ages as 19 as 16.

Police said Cordova was pregnant, and friends said she was expected to give birth next month.

Jason Timothy Gomez Hernandez, 19, a family friend who was seated in the center rear seat of the Nissan, was ejected and killed instantly, police said.

Carlos Alberto Campos, 19, Cordova's boyfriend, was ejected from the front passenger seat. He has multiple fractures and is in critical condition at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, police said.

Andrew Cordova, 15, the women's younger brother who was seated in the right back seat, was also ejected and sustained multiple injuries and is listed in critical condition at Huntington Memorial, officials said.

Campos and Andrew Cordova had limbs severed in the crash.

I heard a local radio show talking about the second wreck and suggesting that they should have left the wreckage in place and bused every high school kid in the area over there to see it. Not a bad idea. School often have these mock accidents they stage on campus, but there's nothing quite so sobering as seeing the real thing.

We're coming up on the one year anniversary of a similar crash that occurred right near my home and sort of inspired continuing posts on this subject as these crashes occur. I keep hoping somebody will see these and think twice about street racing or driving stupid.