2 Party-Goers Injured in Collision After Rave

Two party-goers returning from an all-night rave were seriously injured Sunday morning after driving into the path of a sheriff’s arson investigation van, authorities said.

An unidentified San Bernardino County sheriff’s detective driving the van suffered minor injuries in the 6 a.m. collision on U.S. 395 6 miles north of Adelanto.

The driver of the car, Cynthia Renee Sikes, 18, of El Cajon sustained a shoulder injury and was flown by helicopter to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

Her passenger, Craig Leras, 23, of La Mesa, was airlifted to the hospital where he was in critical condition with a leg injury.

Sikes was being treated Sunday afternoon in the emergency room.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Tim Smith, Sikes was driving a 1987 Honda Accord north on U.S. 395 when she crossed into the southbound lane, directly into the path of the sheriff’s van.

The detective tried to swerve but the van was struck on the side and forced off the road, where it overturned and came to rest on its wheels, he said.

CHP officials say they will seek felony charges today against Sikes for driving under the influence of a controlled substance. CHP officials say they plan to seek drug possession charges against Leras.

Sikes and Leras were returning from a rave party attended by about 5,000 people at the High Desert Mavericks Stadium, officials said.

The collision occurred three weeks after five young people returning from an all-night rave party at a San Gabriel Mountains ski resort died when their car plunged off a steep embankment on Angeles Crest Highway.

Federal officials who arrested a USC senior in the sale of LSD to undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents say the college student boasted that he sold LSD-tainted snow cones to five teenagers before they died.

Raves are typically all-night parties that feature large crowds, multiple disc jockeys and loud electronic music with a heavy beat. Police and rave organizers say drug use, particularly LSD and other hallucinogens, is common.