Driver in crash that killed five teens didn’t have valid license
The 17-year-old high school student who was behind the wheel when his car spun out of control and killed five people in a horrific Memorial Day crash in Newport Beach did not have a valid driver’s license, according to court and motor vehicle records.
Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan had received a citation in April for violating his provisional license, records show.
The high school junior, records show, was pulled over just blocks from his Irvine home and cited for making a prohibited modification to the exhaust system of his gray 2008 Infiniti -- which bore the personalized license plate “KHASONA” -- and having tinted windows that obstructed the driver’s view.
PHOTOS: 5 killed in Newport Beach crash
DMV records show Alyahyan did not have a driver’s license, but had a pending application for one.
Alyahyan and a group of friends where killed in the violent crash Monday along a downhill stretch of Jamboree Road, not far from the city’s police station and the upscale Fashion Island mall.
Along with Alyhyan, four Irvine High School students were killed: sisters Robin A. Cabrera, 17, a 12th-grader, and Aurora C. Cabrera, 16, a 10th-grader; and 11th-graders Nozad Al Hamawendi and Cecilia D. Zamora, both 17. Alyhyan attended University High in Irvine.
On Wednesday, Irvine High students and others left flowers and photos and trinkets on a concrete retaining wall Wednesday as they headed to class for the first time since the crash. Girls in white tops and jeans cried and hugged one another. Some boys stood, hands in pockets, heads bowed looking over the makeshift memorial.
“It’s a tight community within the school and the district,” said Keith Tuominem, Irvine Unified’s director of secondary education.
At University High, Julia Knoell, 16, said the campus seemed quieter.
“I can kind of feel a vibe around the school,” she said.
“It kind of feels a little more somber,” said student Benjamin Efron, 18.
Authorities called Monday’s wreck the worst solo-car crash in memory. Police said speed played a role in the crash. The victims were apparently headed to the beach, according to wire service reports.
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