MESA, AZ — Three teens are dead and another is hurt after a crash Wednesday night in Mesa.
Mesa police say around 9 p.m., they received several calls about a crash near Ellsworth and Guadalupe roads.
VIDEO: UPDATE FROM MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Officers arrived and found a single vehicle involved with four teens trapped inside.
Initial investigation shows the vehicle was driving eastbound on Guadalupe when they lost control of the vehicle. It hit and went over the curb into the landscaping before it hit a boulder. The vehicle then rolled over and struck a light pole before the car finally stopped.
Four teen girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were inside the vehicle.
The driver and front passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. The two passengers in the back were rushed to the hospital. One of the two girls died at the hospital. The fourth person, a 14-year-old girl, remains in a hospital.
It is believed a 16-year-old was the driver. Police say the girls were all friends and not related.
Police believe speed and weather both played a role in the fatal crash.
The victims have not yet been identified.
Loved ones of the 14-year-old survivor have started a GoFundMe account.
Members of the community are heartbroken while trying to wrap their heads around what happened.
"I was just watching TV and I heard a loud bang,” said Martin Chikuni.
At first, Martin Chikuni thought it was thunder. “I thought maybe it was the storm because it was raining kind of hard. And then I looked in the back and I could see some smoke,” he said.
Chikuni’s backyard wall is directly behind where the car ended up.
“I wasn’t sure what it was, but then when I went out and looked over the fence, I could see the car was smashed,” Chikuni added.
“I feel bad for the family,” said Denny Hunt, who has a teenage daughter who was driving home when she saw the crash.
At one point, Hunt walked to the crash site to leave a candle and a cross.
“Sorry to the families who lost their kids. Definitely will be in our prayers,” Hunt said in tears.
We’re told everyone was wearing their seatbelts.
The Mesa Police Department recently launched Operation Safer Streets after noticing an increase in deaths due to crashes.
They say last year they reported 44 deaths as a result of crashes on the roads.
This year, that number is already up to 16.
