Early Saturday morning tragedy struck Riverside as two teenagers were killed and another was seriously injured in a suspected DUI crash, as reported by KTLA. Calls to Riverside Police came in around 5:40 a.m. regarding a major collision on Wood Road, and upon arrival, officers found a gray Lexus sedan on fire; the blaze extinguished revealed two deceased teenagers inside.
The ongoing investigation suggests, as detailed by KTLA, that the teenage driver of the Lexus, aged 17, was speeding northbound and ran a red light at Van Buren Boulevard colliding with a blue Scion driven by an adult male, then the Lexus careened off a cement light pole, a wooden electrical pole, and a tree, after which it caught on fire, killing both a 17-year-old male driver and an 18-year-old female passenger, and a 17-year-old male passenger in the Lexus was found with serious injuries and hospitalized.
According to a news release from the Riverside Police Department covered by CBS Los Angeles, neither the Scion's driver nor its passenger sustained injuries from the crash. They both remained at the scene, readily cooperating with law enforcement officers.
Authorities have expressed suspicions that "alcohol and drugs are suspected factors that contributed to this collision as well as vehicle speed," which was echoed in reports from various outlets including ABC7. Riverside Police Department is actively calling for anyone with additional information to come forward, asking them to reach out to Traffic Detective Amanda Beeman by phone at 951-826-8723 or via email at [email protected].
