On October 4, in an early morning automobile accident, five teenagers were killed near the 5 and 133 Freeway interchange. The teenagers were traveling on the 5 Freeway when the 1995 BMW they were in veered off the freeway and burst into flames. The teens were returning from Knott’s Scary Farm, a Halloween event at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. The park closed at 2:00 a.m. and the accident occurred at roughly 2:10 a.m. The only survivor was the 16-year-old driver who was transported to the hospital from the accident scene. His passengers included a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl, two 14-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy.
I would like to express my sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy to the families and friends of these teenagers, and will keep them in my thoughts and prayers as they continue to deal with this tragedy.
The Cause of the Auto Accident is Yet to Be Determined
Although speed is suspected to have been a contributing factor, the CHP investigators have yet to determine the exact cause of the accident. At this time, authorities do not believe that drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash. At the time of the accident, Investigators thought the driver had a provisional driver’s license and had violated the restrictions of the license by driving at night and having underage passengers in the car.
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, legislation enacting Provisional Driver Licenses for teens passed because statistics showed a dramatic number of serious auto accidents between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. involved young drivers. In an attempt to decrease the number of those accidents, California law prohibits drivers 18- years-old and younger from driving between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The provisional license also prohibits young drivers from having passengers under the age of 20-years-old in the vehicle .
At the time of the accident investigators assumed the 16-year old driver had a license, but it was later determined he did not have either a driver’s license nor a learner’s permit. The CHP is considering filing criminal charges against the boy.
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