A pedestrian and pickup driver were killed in a crash at a Northridge bus stop Wednesday night that police said might have stemmed from a case of road rage.
The deceased were identified Thursday morning as 19-year-old Jasmine Dubon, of Northridge, and 24-year-old Pablo Castaneda, of Canoga Park. Castaneda, who was driving one of the vehicles involved in the crash, and Dubon, a pedestrian, were pronounced dead at hospitals.
Three cars collided at about 8 p.m. near a bus stop at Tampa Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard. Road rage may have contributed to the collision, though the cause of the crash is still under investigation, said Officer Olga Arriaga, with the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Traffic Division.
Aerial video showed a crumpled light-colored sedan, a blue pickup truck on the sidewalk, and a rolled-over van that appeared to belong to an air conditioning company. Debris from the crash was strewn across the intersection, and crowds of on-lookers gathered around the scene.
LAPD's Maureen Ryan called the crash "horrific."
Investigators said the sedan and truck were racing northbound on Tampa Avenue when they sped through the intersection. Witnesses said the drivers appeared to be traveling up to 90 mph.
The sedan struck a white van with such force that the van overturned. The blue truck then barrelled into a bus stop, where three women were standing, and landed on the sidewalk.
The driver of the van and two other women on the sidewalk were injured.
A steady stream of people who knew the victims paid their respects Thursday at two memorials at the crash site.
"She was always smiling," Tina Kramer said of Dubon. "I never ever would have imagined anything like this could happen to her."
"We don't know what happened," said Castaneda's cousin, Maria Gomez. "All we know is we lost him."
Shelly Huggins didn't know the victims, but she witnessed the crash and felt compelled to return to the scene the next day.
"All I heard was a massive crash," Huggins said. "I felt like it could have been me."
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