2 Teens Die in Crash on Way to Prom

Two teenagers were killed and four were seriously injured Thursday evening as they drove to a high school prom and crashed on the northbound San Joaquin Hills tollway in Irvine, authorities said.

The accident occurred at 7:20 p.m. near the exit to Newport Coast Drive as the SUV sped at 70 mph along the freeway, said California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Johnson. The driver, a 16-year-old girl, apparently took her eyes off the road immediately before the accident.

“It appears she was distracted by something in the vehicle,” Johnson said.

“She started to drift into the center divider and a passenger reached out and grabbed the steering wheel.”

The SUV swerved back into the travel lanes but flipped several times, ejecting three passengers. One of them, a 16-year-old boy, was declared dead at the scene.

Another, a girl believed to be 15 or 16, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where she was pronounced dead.

The occupants of the 2000 Isuzu Rodeo were wearing prom suits and gowns, authorities said, but it was not known which prom they were driving to. Johnson said the debris in and around the SUV included textbooks and notebooks from Servite High in Anaheim and Capistrano Valley High in Mission Viejo.

The driver was among the survivors, who told authorities they were on their way to a prom. Three of the survivors were taken to Western Medical Center, and two were taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. One of the five was airlifted, authorities said.

“Alcohol does not appear to be involved,” Johnson said.