Police Take Calls With Possible Tips in Crash Killing 3

After three teenagers were killed by an allegedly drunk driver at a Huntington Beach intersection, police are taking extraordinary steps to piece together what happened.

Wednesday night they sent officers to the scene of the accident, at Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue, to pass out fliers in the hope of finding witnesses. All day Thursday they fielded calls from people who thought they might have seen something significant.

“This accident killed three people,” said Lt. Lloyd Edwards, a spokesman for the Huntington Beach Police Department. “The more witnesses you have, the better the case.”

Investigators also examined the vehicles involved to determine the speed and dynamics of the crash, which happened at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

James Paul Bell, 27, of Rowland Heights is suspected of running a red light and broadsiding the car with three young women coming home from a coffee shop. Jillian Baedeker, 19, and Nancy Le, 18, died at the scene. Chelsea Toma, 19, died hours later at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Police said Bell’s car struck a second car in the intersection, slightly injuring its two occupants.

Bell, who was booked on suspicion of felony drunk driving, was in critical condition Thursday at UCI Medical Center. Police will try to determine why he was driving fast and erratically.

“We don’t know if he was chasing somebody,” said Officer Robert Barr, a lead investigator in the case. “We don’t know if he was at a friend’s house. We’re trying to find all of this out.”

Bell could face other felony counts, including murder, if investigators find that he was not only drunk but deliberately driving recklessly, Barr said.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles and Huntington Beach Police, Bell had two recent traffic citations, neither involving alcohol.

Barr said the case is wrenching for investigators. “When it happens like this, when they are so young, it really affects you.”

Relatives said the three young women, all from Huntington Beach, were best friends who graduated last year from Marina High School. The three were inseparable--they shopped, went to the beach, drank coffee together. Each brought special qualities to the group, friends said.

Baedeker was described as the happy one--upbeat, always smiling, kind to everyone. Her dream was to work with children. She was taking courses at Golden West and Orange Coast colleges.

Toma, who also went to OCC, was the witty one, quick with one-liners.

“She could make you laugh for hours,” said Meredith Flores, 18, a friend of the three since high school.

And Le had the style--she loved shopping for clothes.

“She’d just had extensions done in her hair, and she was really excited about it,” said Flores, who had spent Tuesday afternoon with Le and Baedeker. “They looked really good.”

On their last day, the three friends spent the day sipping coffee, sunning at the beach and making plans for spring break--they loved taking trips.

Baedeker had just returned from Las Vegas, said her sister, Emily, 23. “We only had about another day with her, and then this.”

A memorial service for Baedeker is set for 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church, 16400 Springdale Ave., Huntington Beach, with funeral services at 11 a.m. Monday.

Le will be memorialized Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. at Heritage Memorial Services funeral home at 17712 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Family friends said funeral arrangements for Toma are pending.