A 25th birthday party for four close friends turned tragic as three of them were killed — including the birthday girl — as they were speeding home in Arcadia.
The single-car rollover crash took the lives of two of the men and the birthday woman and left another man critically injured, authorities said.
Police received a report of the overturned sedan at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of West Live Oak Avenue and Las Tunas Drive, said Arcadia Police Department Sgt. Dan Crowther.
Two men and a woman died at the scene, said coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter. They were identified as Raymond Yniquez, 21; Marcus Garcia, 21; and Anna Velazquez, 25, Winter said.
Garcia was the driver, family members told reporters at the scene.
The survivor was hospitalized in critical condition, Crowther said. His name was not released, but a family member at the scene said he was expected to survive.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but speed was believed to have been a factor.
“It was going westbound in westbound lanes,” Arcadia Sgt. Jeremy Lachenmyer said. “Based on what we see so far it looks like speed was definitely a factor in the collision.”
The four friends had earlier been celebrating Velazquez’s birthday, according to family members who said the young woman had turned 25 on Monday.
–City News Service