Five Torrey Pines High School students were involved in a high-speed accident Sunday morning in Rancho Santa Fe. One of the students, a 17-year old boy, died in the crash. Another student, also 17, is hospitalized in critical condition.
The students were traveling in a speeding Mazda about 1:45 a.m. when the car crashed and rolled several times on La Granada. The driver, also 17, was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The driver was traveling at a “high rate of speed” when he lost control on a turn, a CHP dispatcher said.
The teenager that died in the accident was in the rear passenger seat and not wearing a seat belt, according to the North County Times. The county medical examiner has not identified him because his parents are out of the country and need to be contacted. According to the CHP the boy lived in Carmel Valley.
“I was just picking up my son just down the road and I saw all the Torrey Pines kids coming here. They were all very upset, as are all the parents. Three of our seniors I guess got in a terrible car accident and one of them didn’t make it and one of them is in a lot of trouble,” parent Anna Chamberlain said at the crash scene Sunday.
“My daughter, first thing in the morning, said that the party that she decided not to go to, afterwards something really bad happened,” Chamberlain said.
The 17-year-old driver, a Carmel Valley resident, was arrested and booked into Juvenile Hall. He was not identified because he is a minor, according to the paper.
“They’re great athletes, they’re great students and they come from great families. This could happen to any of us,” Chamberlain said. “It’s a real tragedy.”
