Speed factor in fatal crash
After two days of probing the circumstances surrounding a fatal crash in Valencia that killed two local men on Tuesday, speed remains the primary factor in the crash, specifically, the speed of the car operated by the older of the two victims.
“Speed is the primary factor in this crash,” said Detective Jeff Maag of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station’s Traffic Section. “The primary focus of the investigation is the speed of the BMW.”
Maag also said there was “no indication” drugs or alcohol were factors in the fatal crash.
Initial reports indicated the BMW was traveling northbound on McBean at a high rate of speed, lost control, clipped what investigators believe was a tree and careened into oncoming traffic.
The BMW slammed head-on into the Honda Accord.
“The driver of the Honda was not ejected,” Maag said, contrary to earlier unsubstantiated reports.
Both vehicles came to a rest about 100 feet apart on the southbound side of McBean Parkway just south of Decoro Drive. The BMW caught fire.
The fatal accident occurred about 10 minutes after midnight, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, at 12:10 a.m., when two cars collided at the intersection of McBean Parkway and Decoro Drive.
Killed in the collision were 18-year-old Hart High School grad Collin Charles Gore and 34-year-old Joel Thomas Godfrey, both of Santa Clarita.
Gore was driving a Honda Accord and Godfrey, a white BMW sedan.
Godfrey was pronounced dead at the scene after midnight on Tuesday morning. Gore was pronounced dead a little later, Winter said.
Winter identified Godfrey as a resident of Santa Clarita.
Public records show Godfrey, at one time, lived in an apartment in Newhall.
Although both drivers were declared dead at the scene, an official cause and manner of death for both deceased men is pending on the results of autopsies, Lt. Ed Winter, of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner Coroner told The Signal Wednesday.