Family identifies sisters in horrific Santa Ana crash that left 4 teens dead

Two sisters among the six victims of a violent and deadly crash in Santa Ana over the weekend have been identified by family members.  

Primarily teens, four of the victims were declared deceased at the scene, with two others hospitalized, one in critical condition and another in “grave condition,” authorities said.  

Officers with the Santa Ana Police Department responded to reports of the single-vehicle crash on April 5 at around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of West Segerstrom Avenue and South Townsend Street.  

Upon arriving at the scene, officers discovered there were six people — five females and one male — inside the car at the time of the collision. Their preliminary investigation revealed that the 18-year-old male driver was traveling at high speed westbound on Segerstrom where he reportedly missed a turn and crashed into a tree.  

At least two of the victims were ejected from the car and a nearby black sedan sustained minor damage, but no one inside the latter vehicle was hurt. 

Video footage obtained by KTLA shows the aftermath of the crash with a large law enforcement presence along Segerstrom as firefighters ascended a ladder to access the mangled vehicle, which was damaged beyond recognition next to a tree in the center median. 

As family members and friends grieve, many showing their respects at a growing memorial at the site of the crash, Ignacio Robles, the father of two of the girls involved, mourned the loss of his 19-year-old daughter Aurelia “Arely” Robles.  

“She was calm, didn’t talk. She worked and all the money she made, she gave to her mom,” Ignacio told KTLA’s Chip Yost in Spanish. “She was a good daughter. She loved her mom very much.” 

His other daughter, 15-year-old Arlene Robles, survived the devastating collision. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where she remains stable.  

“They are going to do surgery on her,” Ignacio explained. “She’s a bit disfigured, but she is stable.”  

Authorities have not officially released the identities of any of the victims, including another pair of sisters in the vehicle during the crash. According to friends who spoke to KTLA, the group of teens were connected through Valley High and Carr Intermediate schools in Santa Ana. 

“Words cannot express the heartbreak and grief our family is feeling,” Jasmin Robles, a sister to two of the victims, wrote in a GoFundMe organized to help the family with funeral expenses. “Arely was a bright light in all of our lives – loving, kind and full of dreams.”  

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