Two Inglewood brothers who were killed in a car crash were honored at their local high school’s graduation — where one of the victims was set to graduate before the tragedy occurred. Karma Dickerson reports for the NBC4 News on June 6, 2024.
Two teen brothers killed Tuesday night in a two-car collision in Playa del Rey have been identified as students at Morningside High School in Inglewood.
A post on the school's Facebook page identified the students who died as David and Hector Ceja, ages 17 and 15. A third student was seriously injured and remains hospitalized, according to the school. That student's brother, a Bennett-Kew Elementary School student, also was hospitalized, the school said.
"We are deeply saddened by the recent tragic incident affecting many of our school communities," the statement said.
The two students who died were honored during a graduation ceremony scheduled for Thursday at the Inglewood school campus. David Ceja was set to graduate from the school.
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During the ceremony, a chair with David's graduation portrait was placed.
"We're awarding the family with his diploma today because he earned it," the school's principal said in an emotional speech at the graduation. "He earned it he was supposed to be here with us today."
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"Their hearts are broken," said Jim Morris, county administrator with the Inglewood Unified School District, who visited the family. "There are no words to described what they're going through."
The head-on crash involving a Honda Accord and Tesla SUV was just before 8 p.m. in the 8800 block of Vista Del Mar near Dockweiler State Beach.
The teen driver of a Honda Accord died at the scene. One of the passengers died on the way to a hospital.
Some of the victims were trapped inside the wrecked Honda.
Details about what led to the crash on the two-lane coastal road were not immediately available.
