5 Teens Hurt as Car Plunges 300 Feet

Five Azusa High School cheerleaders and football players were hurt Saturday when their car went out of control on a dirt mountain road and plunged 300 feet down a steep ravine, officers said.

The most serious injury was sustained by a 15-year-old cheerleader who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and nearly had her ear severed. Doctors were able to reattach it, officers said.

The three 15-year-old cheerleaders and two 17-year-old football players were part of a group of about 40 people, led by football coach Mark Schuster, on an annual outing to mark a giant letter “A” in chalk on the mountainside above town--a tradition at the start of football season.

The accident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. as the caravan of cars was coming back down the mountain road. Officers said the driver, one of the football players, lost control of the car. No drugs, alcohol or excessive speeding was involved in the crash, officers said.

It took a sheriff’s search-and-rescue team 45 minutes to rescue the injured students.