Teen is charged in five deaths
The teenage driver involved in a fiery collision that resulted in the deaths of five juvenile passengers in Irvine last year has been charged in connection with their deaths, authorities said Saturday.
Bradley Morales, who was 16 at the time, was the sole survivor of the crash. He was taken into custody on Saturday and booked into the Orange County Juvenile Detention Center, authorities said.
He has been charged with five felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving without a license and failure to show proof of financial responsibility in connection with the Oct. 4, 2014, crash on the 5 Freeway.
Morales, who suffered a serious head injury in the crash, told paramedics who treated him that the group was heading home after a night at Knott’s Scary Farm, the Halloween theme park at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park.
Authorities said at the time that the driver apparently did not have a license.
In California, motorists younger than 17 1⁄2 are generally prohibited from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and aren’t allowed to have passengers under 20 years old.
Investigators said the teens were traveling south on the 5 near the 133 Freeway interchange about 2:10 a.m. when their sedan veered off the roadway and hit a guardrail. The white 1995 BMW continued up an embankment and came to rest on a concrete retaining wall, where it became engulfed in flames, CHP officials said.
That touched off a small brush fire around the vehicle. Five bodies were found inside and the driver outside.
Those killed in the crash were identified as Alex Sotelo, Matthew Melo, Brandon Moreno, Jennifer Campos and Jennifer Bahena. They ranged in age from 14 to 16.
Campos’ cousin, Cassandra Barraza, 18, had mixed feelings about the criminal charges.
“I’m glad that justice has been served for my family and the other four families who lost loved ones,” she said.
“But they should have done this sooner... [Morales] was underage and he didn’t’ have a driver license and that should have led police to act faster.”