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Teen Siblings Killed In Wrong-Way PCH Crash Didn't Have Driver's Licenses
Elias and Elexis Garcia (Photo via KTLA/Facebook
Two teen siblings died in a high-speed, wrong-way crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington on Thursday. The DMV is saying the teens did not have driver's licenses.Shortly after classes let out at Banning High School on Thursday, 18-year-old Elexis Garcia reportedly got behind the wheel of her boyfriend's red Honda Civic with her 16-year-old brother Elias Garcia sitting in the passenger seat and two female friends in the backseat, according to CBS Los Angeles. Elexis Garcia's car and a dark-colored pickup truck were both speeding westbound down the eastbound lanes on PCH when she lost control of her car and crashed head-on into a white van around 3:15 p.m. near Island Avenue, just three blocks away from their school. The Honda Civic was destroyed. LAPD Sgt. Dana Adams told KTLA that the crash was "catastrophic." After the crash, the pickup truck sped away.
Elexis and Eli Garcia were both pronounced dead at the scene. The two female passengers in their car were rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and are in critical condition, reported KTLA. The driver of the van had minor injuries.
The scene of the crash (Photo via KTLA)
A DMV official told KTLA that neither of the siblings had a valid driver's license on record.
Initially, an LAPD spokesman said that the crash was the result of street-racing, but later reports said that the Honda Civic and pickup truck were both speeding the wrong way on PCH. Authorities are still searching for the driver of the pickup truck for questioning.
Arturo Miranda refuted the claims that Elexis Garcia had been street racing. "They are saying she was racing, but she wasn’t like that," he told the Daily Breeze. Miranda said moments before the crash Elexis Garcia had dropped off her boyfriend at the pizza shop where he works.
Elexis Garcia was a senior at their high school and her brother was a sophomore.
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The siblings' friend Jazzlene Rodriguez told KABC: "They'd always make us laugh; they'd make me smile. Lexi, she was beautiful. She'd always make everybody smile. She'd have a great time with Eli. They were super close. Eli was the best; he'd make everyone smile and have fun."
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