2 Dead After Car Crashes Down Steep Embankment Near Vista

A 19-year-old driver and his passenger were killed when a car crashed down a rural hillside northeast of Vista, authorities said Friday.

The crash happened about 10:30 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Lawrence Welk Court and Lawrence Welk Drive, west of Interstate 15, California Highway Patrol Officer Juan Escobar said.

The Vista resident was driving a 2016 Toyota Scion eastbound on Lawrence Welk Court with a man, whose age was not immediately available, in the front passenger seat, Escobar said.

For unknown reasons, the driver allowed the car to continue through the intersection with Lawrence Welk Drive and travel down a steep embankment, the officer said.

The driver and passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, Escobar said. They have been identified by the medical examiner as Andrew Manriquez Alarcon, 17, and Hugo Alfredo Ramirez,19.