A 19-year-old motorist was behind bars Wednesday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony drunken driving after he allegedly lost control of his SUV, resulting in a single-vehicle rollover crash that killed a 14-year-old girl and injured four others near La Serna High School in Whittier.
Daniel Vasquez of Whittier is being held at the Whittier jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. No arraignment date has been set so far.
The SUV, with Vasquez and five others on board, crashed around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday in the 8400 block of Villaverde Drive, according to Whittier police Officer John Scoggins.
Vasquez was speeding southbound on Villaverde Drive from Mar Vista Street when he lost control of the SUV, veered onto the sidewalk, struck a large brick mailbox, and the vehicle rolled over, coming to rest on its roof, the Whittier Police Department reported.
Ivette Macias, a student at La Serna High School, died in the crash, according to Lt. Larry Dietz of the coroner’s office and Loring Davies, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Whittier Union High School District.
The other three females and two males in the vehicle were seriously injured.
“The district is working with the Whittier Police Department to determine the details surrounding the accident,” Davies said.
“Given the gravity of the situation, students have been allowed to respond to texts/calls from parents to confirm that they are safe. The district will work with LSHS to ensure counselors are available to all students and staff through the week.”
Two of the injured people were airlifted to hospitals in critical condition. The other three were taken by ambulances.
Jay Lee, who said he was plying golf nearby, told ABC7 he heard the crash and ran to the scene.
“I looked out and then I just saw, well, a car just flipped over,” he said. “And I heard a young girl, she was screaming pretty badly, … her friends weren’t waking up so she was very scared, I guess. And there was actually a lot of blood.”
Lee said he saw a lot of beer cans around the crash site.
—City News Service