Three teenagers were killed and a fourth young person was injured early Thursday morning when an SUV veered off the southbound 5 Freeway in Anaheim and plunged down an embankment. The crash happened around 3:15 a.m. near the Lincoln Avenue off-ramp, south of Euclid Street. The Ford Edge reportedly missed the exit, struck a guardrail and a concrete pillar, then rolled down a sloped embankment before landing in brush. Two of the teens were pronounced dead at the scene, and a third died later at a hospital; the fourth occupant was hospitalized with injuries. Investigators say none of the occupants appeared to be wearing a seat belt.
According to KTLA, the California Highway Patrol said the SUV was traveling southbound on Interstate 5 when it left the roadway for reasons that remain under investigation. KTLA reported that the off-ramp and all four southbound main lanes were shut down for hours, with two lanes reopening around 5 a.m. and the freeway fully reopened by about 8 a.m. The CHP and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department identified the deceased as 17-year-old Victor Hugo Delgado and 16-year-old Robert Miguel Gutierrez-Avalos, both of Santa Ana, and 15-year-old Levi Jacob Flores of Garden Grove. The CHP continues to investigate what caused the driver to lose control.