Authorities officially released most of the identities of the victims, primarily teens, killed in a gruesome and tragic crash in Santa Ana, including a fifth victim who is on life support and has been declared brain dead, officials said.
Officers with the Santa Ana Police Department responded to reports of the violent single-vehicle crash on April 5 at around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of West Segerstrom Avenue and South Townsend Street and found that six people, one male and five females, were in the car at the time of the collision.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the driver of the car, now identified as 18-year-old Emanuel “Manny” Gonzalez Martines, was traveling at a high-speed on West Segerstrom when he missed a turn and crashed into a tree.
At least two of the victims were ejected from the vehicle, which was damaged beyond recognition and had to be accessed by firefighters using a ladder.
As family members and friends grieve, many showing their respects at a growing memorial at the site of the crash, those killed include the 18-year-old driver, Aurelia “Arely” Robles, 20, Natalia Vidal Zarate, 17, and Jaqueline Torres Zarate, 16.
The sole survivor of the crash, 15-year-old Arlene Robles, Aurelia’s younger sister, remains in stable but critical condition, her father telling KTLA that she will undergo surgery for injuries sustained during the crash.
Friends of those in the vehicle that night told KTLA that the group all knew each other from Valley High and Carr Intermediate schools.
The young victim on life support, who was hospitalized in “grave condition” after the crash and as of Tuesday morning had no brain activity, according to officials, was a student at Carr Intermediate.
The identity of the sixth person in the vehicle has not officially been released.
While authorities initially said they suspected alcohol and or drugs may have been a factor in the crash, Santa Ana Police Department Spokesperson Natalie Garcia told The Orange County Register, detectives have not confirmed that and that the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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