La Mesa Teen Killed, 3 Friends Hurt in Crash in Palm Springs

A La Mesa teen-ager was killed and three of his friends were injured Tuesday in a high-speed car crash in Indian Wells, near the scene of the spring break revelry in Palm Springs.

Jon Gregory Treadway, 16, was driving a 1989 Jaguar east on California 111 shortly before noon when he apparently lost control of the car, said Carla Garcia, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Witnesses said the Jaguar was traveling about 100 m.p.h. when it left the roadway and smashed into a palm tree. Treadway was thrown from the car and died at the scene, a spokesman for the Indio coroner’s office said.

Two of Treadway’s passengers, Sean Kelly, 19, of San Diego and Raymond Summers, 19, of Lemon Grove were taken to Eisenhower Medical Center in nearby Rancho Mirage. Both were listed in critical condition Tuesday night. No further information was available on the extent of their injuries.

A fourth passenger, Jon Pasto, 20, of San Diego was listed in serious condition Tuesday night at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. He suffered two broken legs, a broken arm and head and neck injuries, authorities said.

All four were visiting the Palm Springs area to celebrate spring break, in what has become a rowdy tradition in the usually sophisticated desert town. Thousands of high school and college students have converged on the city over the past few days, and police have mobilized in an attempt to prevent the full-scale rioting that broke out three years ago during the revelry.

Palm Springs police and the Riverside County sheriff’s have made more than 500 arrests and issued nearly 3,000 tickets for infractions ranging from jaywalking to public drunkenness since the celebration began Friday.