KTLA

‘My heart is so broken’: Mother, community mourn 3 teens killed in Pasadena crash

Friends and family members gathered Monday night to remember three teenagers who were killed in a violent single-vehicle crash near the 210 Freeway in Pasadena.

A makeshift memorial of flowers and candles grew at the site of the crash, where the teenagers’ mangled vehicle landed after the crash south of Foothill Boulevard.


Andyn Bae, 17, was driving the car while Nicholas Torres, 17, and Eric Gullekson, 16, were passengers Sunday night. The vehicle slammed into a raised concrete curb, hit a chain link fence, went over a dirt embankment and overturned.

Bae and Gullekson were pronounced dead at the scene, and Torres later died at a hospital.

Torres’ mother, Daisy Maciel, was still coming to terms with losing her first born son when she joined community members at the vigil Monday.

“I’m gonna miss him so much,” the mother said through tears. “My heart is so broken.”

She remembered him as a boy with a big heart who was well-mannered and respectful.

Several of Bae’s Temple City High School also joined the vigil, saying they will miss their friend who would have celebrated his 18th birthday on Monday.

“He was a really, really great kid and he was just a fantastic soul,” his friend Felix Avitia said. “I know he went to heaven for sure.”

Another friend, Sebastian Raygoza, described Bae as a “really good guy” who was easy to talk to.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation and it “is unknown if alcohol and /or drugs were a contributing factor,” CHP said in a news release.