3 killed, 5 hurt in crash in El Monte

A woman and her two children died Monday night when their vehicle was struck by one of two cars believed to be involved in an illegal street race in a quiet El Monte neighborhood, police said.

Five people also were hurt.

The dead, who were not identified, were trapped in their sedan when it was broadsided in an intersection, pushed some 50 feet by the force of the collision and burst into flames moments later.

“It is a horrific scene,” said El Monte police Lt. Ken Alva.

“If the preliminary indications are correct and these vehicle were racing,” he said, “it is another example of the senseless loss of life based on people who want to disregard the safety of others to race along these city streets.”

Authorities said the accident occurred about 5:40 p.m., when a red convertible Ford Mustang and an Acura Legend traveling north on Parkway Drive sped through the intersection at Elliott Avenue and set off the multi-car crash. The intersection has stop signs at four corners, police said.

The Mustang struck the sedan carrying an adult and two children with such force that both vehicles were pushed into the southbound lanes of Parkway and then into a pickup, Alva said.

The woman and children died inside the burning sedan, he said.

An adult and two children in the pickup suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

The second car believed involved in the race continued through the intersection and struck another vehicle that was parked along the eastside curb of Parkway. An adult in that car sustained cuts and bruises.

An adult in the Mustang was taken to Greater El Monte Community Hospital for treatment and was being detained for questioning but had not been arrested, authorities said. Alva said authorities were still investigating the case and had not yet determined if the person was the driver of the Mustang or a passenger.

The Acura was found abandoned about a block from the accident scene. Police continued to search for its driver late Monday, Alva said.

Although the investigation was still underway, Alva said authorities suspected the vehicles were racing, or at least traveling at unsafe speeds, based on the skid marks found at the scene. The crushing impact on the sedan also was an indication that the vehicles were traveling at a high rate of speed, Alva said.

It was not immediately clear when the victims of the accident would be identified or who, if anyone, would be charged in connection with the deaths.

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greg.krikorian@latimes.com