The three people who died after their car overturned near the 210 Freeway in Pasadena on Sunday night were all identified as teenagers, according to authorities.
Andyn Bae, 17, was behind the wheel of the silver 2005 Honda, while Nicholas Torres, 17, and Eric Gullekson, 16, were passengers, California Highway Patrol officials said Monday.
The vehicle was headed down Michillinda Avenue just before 8:30 p.m. when the driver somehow lost control of it and slammed into a raised concrete curb, according to a CHP news release.
The car continued on in a westbound direction, hitting a chain link fence and going into a dirt embankment before overturning south of Foothill Boulevard, investigators said.
CHP officials had said it first appeared the car flew off the highway before investigators determined that was not the case.
Paramedics responded and pronounced Bae and Gullekson dead at the scene. Torres was taken to nearby Huntington Memorial Hospital where he later died.
Family and friends gathered at the crash scene on Monday night at an emotional vigil for the three teens, leaving candles and balloons at the site.
Bae’s friends described him as a “good guy” and a “really great kid,” telling KTLA he would’ve turned 18 years old on Monday.
“He was always someone that you could kind of go around, talk to, made you feel really comfortable,” Sebastian Raygoza said. “Never a dull moment with him.”
Torres’ grief-stricken mother told KTLA her firstborn was big hearted, respectful and would do anything to help others in need.
“I’m going to miss him so much,” Daisy Maciel said through tears. “My heart is so broken.”
The cause of the solo-vehicle crash remains under investigation and it “is unknown if alcohol and /or drugs were a contributing factor,” investigators stated in the release.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call CHP Officer Villanueva at 626-296-8100.
