Two men died Saturday night in an auto accident California Highway Patrol officials said was likely caused by wet roads in Santa Clarita. (KTLA-TV) |
CASTAIC, Calif. (KTLA) -- California Highway Patrol officials now believe alcohol may have played a part in a Saturday night accident that claimed the lives of two Newhall teenagers.
Kevin Sanchez, 16, and Richard Lagunas, 19, were passengers in a 1999 Ford escort driven by 28-year-old Carlos Hernandez, also of Newhall, CHP officias said. Sanchez and Lagunas were killed in the wreck, while Hernandez and a third passenger, a 17-year-old boy, survived.
Hernandez was driving the car just before 11:40 p.m., heading east on Hasley Canyon Road near Commerce Center Drive through an S-curve leading from a residential area into a business zone. CHP officials said a downpour had just doused the area, leaving the roadways very slick.
Hernandez lost control of the car, sending the vehicle off the side of the road, through a wooden fence and shearing off a large tree before landing on the hillside. One of the two men inside the car was ejected from the mini-van during the crash, though CHP officials could not confirm if it was the driver or the passenger.
The 17-year-old boy, who rode in the front passenger seat, was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured. Sanchez and Lagunas, who were sitting in the back were pronounced dead at the scene.
Hernandez was also seriously injured. Paramedics rushed Hernandez and the 17-year-old boy to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.
The three passengers were not wearing seatbelts and CHP officials believe Hernandez may have been driving drunk, the Los Angeles Times reports. Hernandez faces arrest if he recovers.
Kevin Sanchez, 16, and Richard Lagunas, 19, were passengers in a 1999 Ford escort driven by 28-year-old Carlos Hernandez, also of Newhall, CHP officias said. Sanchez and Lagunas were killed in the wreck, while Hernandez and a third passenger, a 17-year-old boy, survived.
Hernandez was driving the car just before 11:40 p.m., heading east on Hasley Canyon Road near Commerce Center Drive through an S-curve leading from a residential area into a business zone. CHP officials said a downpour had just doused the area, leaving the roadways very slick.
Hernandez lost control of the car, sending the vehicle off the side of the road, through a wooden fence and shearing off a large tree before landing on the hillside. One of the two men inside the car was ejected from the mini-van during the crash, though CHP officials could not confirm if it was the driver or the passenger.
The 17-year-old boy, who rode in the front passenger seat, was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured. Sanchez and Lagunas, who were sitting in the back were pronounced dead at the scene.
Hernandez was also seriously injured. Paramedics rushed Hernandez and the 17-year-old boy to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.
The three passengers were not wearing seatbelts and CHP officials believe Hernandez may have been driving drunk, the Los Angeles Times reports. Hernandez faces arrest if he recovers.
