Revisiting Devastating Accident on O.C. Roadway
It was eight years ago (Oct. 2014) when 5 teenagers were killed in an automobile accident on the southbound I-5. The group was returning home from Knott’s Scary Farm in Buena Park.
Fire department units arrived on scene in the early morning hours that October day to find the teen’s 1995 BMW overturned and burning. The crash also caused a brush fire which was ultimately extinguished. One teen, the driver, was not killed and was treated for life-threatening injuries in a local hospital.
CHP and Fire units agreed that the crash was one of the worst they had even been involved in due to the fact that there were so many fatalities in one car. According to the original news report by KABC, the cause of the crash was not immediately apparent (and may have been speed-related) but that several of the teens in the car were not wearing safety belts. The number of fatalities could very well have been reduced had the occupants in the car been wearing seat belts.
Irvine car crash 2014
As an attorney in Tustin, the wreck and the loss of life hit home for me. As a father of two sons (both of whom were in their teens at the time) I felt for the families of the deceased young people. In a case such as this where no other person or vehicle was the cause of the accident, seeking any sort of justice is fruitless.
I bring this terrible accident up once more to reiterate the need for safety education. I’ve written in the past about the need for seat belts and how they save lives, but unless the message gets through to those driving or riding in vehicle (teenagers, especially who tend to feel somewhat immortal) the tragedy of crashes like this will continue—and on our own Orange County roads.
As we move into summer, there will be increased numbers of cars on the roads, more parties and more drivers behind the wheel that perhaps should not be. As a parent I ask that other parents really drive (excuse the pun) the point of safety home to their kids. We don’t need another October 4, 2014 in Orange County ever again.