A 13-year-old girl on life support after a gruesome and tragic crash in Santa that claimed the lives of four other victims, primarily teens, succumbed to her injuries Wednesday, authorities announced.
Officers with the Santa Ana Police Department responded to reports of the violent single-vehicle crash on April 5 at around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of West Segerstrom Avenue and South Townsend Street and found that six people, one male and five females, were in the car at the time of the collision.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the driver of the car, an 18-year-old male, was traveling at a high-speed on West Segerstrom when he missed a turn and crashed into a tree.
At least two of the victims were ejected from the vehicle, which was damaged beyond recognition and had to be accessed by firefighters using a ladder.
Three teenage passengers and one adult were declared dead at the scene.
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Ignacio Robles seen at the crash site memorial where his daughter Aurelia “Arely” Robles died on March 5, 2025. (KTLA) -
A group of mourners gather at the site of a deadly crash in Santa Ana that left four young people dead and two more in the hosptal on April 5, 2025. (KTLA) -
Aurelia “Arely” Robles, 19, of Santa Ana, seen in this undated family photo. (Jasmin Robles via GFM) -
People gather near the scene of a crash that killed 5 people in Santa Ana on April 5, 2025.
The 13-year-old, whose identity has not yet been released was rushed to the hospital where she was listed in “grave condition.”
On Tuesday, authorities announced that the young girl had been declared brain dead shortly after the deadly collision.
The other victims killed were identified as the 18-year-old driver Emanuel “Manny” Gonzalez Martinez; Aurelia “Arely” Robles, 20; Natalia Vidal Zarate, 17; and Jaqueline Torres Zarate, 16.
The sole survivor of the crash, 15-year-old Arlene Robles, Aurelia’s younger sister, remains in stable but critical condition, her father telling KTLA that she will undergo surgery for injuries sustained during the crash.
Grieving friends and family said the group of young people knew each other from Valley High School and Carr Intermediate, where the 13-year-old attended school.
“At this time, detectives are investigating whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the collision,” a SAPD news release stated.
