SAN CLEMENTE – Authorities released the names of three of the four people who died in a car crash believed to have been caused by alcohol and speed Saturday morning. A fifth person was injured and is expected to survive, officials said.
Police responded at 1:26 a.m. to a single-car accident on South El Camino Real near West Avenida Valencia, said sheriff Lt. Steve Gil.
Deputies found a late-model BMW 3-series had hit a pole and palm tree causing the car to split in half. Three men and one woman were thrown from the car and died at the scene.
The preliminary investigation shows that alcohol and speed may have been factors in the accident, sheriff Lt. Jeff Hallock said.
Those identified are: Pablo Vargas Diaz, 25, of San Juan Capistrano, Martin Junior Nieto, 26, of Laguna Niguel, and Lucia Garcia Solis, 27, of San Juan Capistrano.
Authorities said the third man who died has been tentatively identified, but release of his name is pending confirmation.
Officials said a 24-year-old woman who was the front-seat passenger was taken to Mission Hospital within eight minutes of Orange County Fire Authority paramedics arriving. She is in serious condition, but expected to survive, said OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi.
Two nearby off-duty Long Beach firefighter-paramedics stopped at the scene of the accident to help before authorities arrived, Concialdi said.
Authorities closed South El Camino Real between the 5 freeway and Avenida Barcelona, as well the El Camino Real offramp from the 5 southbound. The roads were reopened around noon.
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