Two men and a dog died late Sunday night when they were hit by a pickup truck driven by an unlicensed teenager in Riverside, according to police.
The crash was reported at 11:48 p.m., near the intersection of Van Buren Boulevard and Challen Avenue.
According to the Riverside Police Department, the 17-year-old driver of a 2011 GMC truck lost control and jumped the curb going southbound on Van Buren where the two men and the dog were walking.
The truck also slammed into a traffic signal.
The men were declared dead at the scene while the driver of the truck, a 17-year-old boy from Perris, was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Police say alcohol may have been a factor.
These were the 12th and 13th road fatalities in Riverside this year, police said.
“It feels like these deaths… the number of deaths… aren’t shocking enough to people,” lamented police spokesman Ryan Railsback. “We have two young men here lose their lives (just) for walking on a street.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ryan Mchugh at 951-826-8720 or email RMchugh@riversideca.gov.