A candlelight vigil will be held Thursday night for two of the five teenagers killed in a car crash in Irvine.
A funeral Mass is also scheduled for Friday morning for Brandon Alejandro Moreno of Mission Viejo and Alejandro Sotelo of San Juan Capistrano, who were both 14, at Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano, where they were both parishioners.
Also killed in the Oct. 4 crash were Jennifer Bahena, 14, of Laguna Hills, and Matthew Ivan Melo, 15, of Mission Viejo.
The crash occurred on the southbound side of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway south of the Route 133 toll road about 2:12 a.m. when the white 1995 BMW flew off the freeway and caught fire, according to the CHP.
The front end of the BMW apparently drifted off the roadway and struck a metal guardrail, according to the CHP.
“Due to the speed, the vehicle continued in a southerly direction up an overcrossing embankment and came to rest on the top of a concrete retaining wall,” according to the CHP. The car and its five passengers were engulfed in fire.
The driver reportedly told rescuers the group had been returning from a late-night trip to Knott’s Berry Farm.
Only the driver — identified in news reports at 16-year-old Bradley Morales — survived. Investigators Tuesday conducted measurements of the roadway at the site of the crash, closing off one lane. The Boys & Girls Club of Capistrano Valley announced Wednesday that it is helping raise money for the families of Alejandro and another victim, Jennifer Campos, who were longtime members of the organization.
Alejandro belonged to the club for six years and was a freshman at Capistrano Valley High School and was a standout soccer player. Jennifer, who lived in Aliso Viejo, attended Laguna Hills High School and had recently celebrated her quinceanera. She enjoyed practicing dancing at the club.
The Boys & Girls Club was taking donations through its website at bgccapo.com.
—City News Service