On Thursday, a brother and sister from California died in a violent car crash that is being investigated as a possible street race gone awry.
18-year-old Elexis Garcia and her 16-year-old brother, Elias, died on impact after their red Honda Civic crashed into a white van at 350 West Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington. The accident happened just after 3.15pm.
According to Los Angeles Police, neither Elexis nor Elias had a valid driving license when the accident happened.
According to a report by KTLA, 3 other individuals, including the Garcias’ teenage passengers and the driver of the other motor vehicle, sustained injuries in the accident and required hospitalization due to the severe nature of the injuries.
The accident happened almost three blocks from Banning High School, which both the Garcia siblings attended.
Investigators told that surveillance video taken from a nearby business showed the Garcias’ red sedan was travelling at a high rate of speed in the wrong direction and possibly racing a dark-colored truck also going against traffic.
According to the police, Elexis was the one driving the motor vehicle. Her brother was sitting in the front passenger seat and their 2 friends from Banning High School were sitting in the back seat. The driver of a van the Honda crashed into also sustained injuries in the crash.
Heartbroken friends and family of the Garcia siblings have been gathering at the location of the accident, leaving flowers, candles and money for their funeral to help their family.
Elexis Garcia was speeding against traffic when she lost control of the car belonging to her boyfriend and crashed into a white ride-share van, told the investigators.
The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The 2 girls in the backseat of Garcias’ car were said to be in serious condition due to life-threatening injuries they sustained in the accident.
Police are now searching the dark truck that may have been street racing with the Garcias’ when the accident occurred.
The surveillance video and witness accounts show that Elexis and Elias’ mother rushed to the accident spot and were heard wailing in sorrow.
A police officer was seen holding her back from her children’s damaged motor vehicle, which responding officers covered with a tarp while waiting for the coroner to arrive and remove the teenagers’ dead bodies from the spot.
Elexis Garcia, whose nick name was Lexi, was a senior while her brother was a sophomore.
According to a report by The Daily Breeze, the 2 siblings were inseparable and they even jokingly calling themselves twins.
Those who knew Elias described him as the famous boy in school, known for his fashionable hip hop-inspired clothes and his bold nickname, which was “The King”
Christopher Ortega, a former Banning student said, “He was the center of attention at all parties. Everybody liked him”.
Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who represents Wilmington, began a fund to assist the Garcias’ family with the teens’ final expenses.
News Source: www.DailyMail.co.uk
