Students at Chino High School were mourning the deaths of two fellow students who were killed after a 16-year-old driver lost control of a vehicle they were in and slammed into a wall and then a pole in Ontario.
The rollover crash, which occurred about 10:33 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of South Grove Avenue and East Airport Drive (map), also left two males injured, said Detective Bill Russell of the Ontario Police Department.
The vehicle — occupied by the unlicensed male driver, an 18-year-old male passenger and two female passengers — was traveling northbound on Grove at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control and crossed the center median before hitting the wall and pole, Russell said.
The two female passengers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Chino High School students said that both females attended the school.
One was later identified as 16-year-old Valerie Zavala, of Ontario, according to the San Bernardino County coroner’s office.
The coroner’s office has not released the name of the second teen, but classmates identified her as Julie Salas.
“She was a good friend, she was a good person. I feel bad cause I couldn’t say bye to her,” said Robert Delgado, who was friends with her.
Students at the school said many were upset upon hearing the news, and that many walked out of class.
“It’s really said, there’s a lot of sad people,” an unidentified female student said.
Jesse Duarte, a friend of the victims, added that many students were crying.
“I would just see people bawling, just really sad,” he said.
Even some teachers were overcome with grief.
“My teacher was crying because she had her for one of her periods,” said Jennifer Rivera, a student at the school.
The names of the other people involved in the collision were not immediately released.
The driver and a third passenger were transported to a hospital, and were listed in stable condition.
They both attended a different high school than the two females.
KTLA’s Ashley Soley-Cerro contributed to this report.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the wrong school the students attended. The article has been corrected.
