Community Mourns Teens Who Died in Crash

Editor's note: This story was originally published on Tuesday, May 28 at 9:10 p.m.

Classmates of the the five teens who died on Memorial Day after their car plowed into a tree, split in two and burst into flames gathered at the Newport Beach crash site Tuesday evening.

The high-speed, fiery crash on Jamboree Road claimed the lives of young high schoolers from Irvine. University High School student Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan, 17, was the driver of the 2008 Infiniti. His passengers were students at Irvine High School and included Aurora Cabrera, 16, a sophomore, her sister, Robin, 17, who was a senior, and juniors Nozad Al Hamawendi, 17, and Cecilia D. Zamora,17, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported.

"They didn't deserve to die the way they did," Isabel Gonzales, an Irvine High School student, said as she stood at the crash site Tuesday evening.

Gonzales is one of many people shocked by the tragic crash that happened about 5:22 p.m. on Jamboree Road near Island Lagoon Drive.

Police said the car veered off the road, hit a tree in the center divider and upon impact split in half. The front engine compartment immediately caught fire, according to Kathy Lowe, Newport Beach police spokeswoman.

According to Lowe, investigators have determined the Infiniti was traveling at a "high rate of speed." The speed limit on that stretch of Jamboree Road is 55 mph, but Lowe said further investigation will determine exactly how fast the car was going and whether the teens were wearing seat belts.

Aurora Cabrera, Cecilia Zamora, Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan and Nozad Al Hamawendi were ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Orange County coroner's office. Robin Cabrera, who was partially ejected, died just after 6 p.m. at Mission Viejo's Mission Hospital.

In a statement posted on the Irvine Unified School District's website, Superintendent Terry Walker expressed his condolences to the families of the teen victims calling the crash an "unimaginable loss."

"There are simply no words to convey the sorrow felt by our students and staff, nor are there sufficient answers to explain the loss of five vibrant teenagers from our schools and this community," Walker said.

Grief counselors, psychologists and other professional staff will be available at the high schools impacted to help the students cope with their grief, Walker added.

Did you know any of the victims? Tell us about them in the comments.

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