UPDATED at 4:43 p.m.
By Brian Hews
IRVINE – Five teenagers died early Saturday on the southbound 5 Freeway near the Highway 133 Connector and their deaths are sending a shock wave around Capo Valley High School where at least three of them were students.
Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper has learned that three of the fiver who died where lifelong friends and all played soccer. The group had been attending Knott’s (Berry) Scary Farm in Buena Park and were returning to their homes at the time of the tragic accident.
Law enforcement authorities said a white 4-door BMW sedan was seen going down an embankment before it caught on fire.
Three of those who perished in the crash at Alex Sotelo, Matthew Melo, and Brandon Moreno and all of the played for the Mission Viejo Soccer Club and went to Capo Valley High School. A leader from the program, Billy McNicol told NBC News that Sotelo, Melo, and Moreno were the victims.
One of their teammates told his friends on the social network, “These were my best friends and great teammates. Unfortunately I don’t know the females involved but the 3 males were my best friends and this is the saddest day of my life. I love matt, alex, and brandon and this shouldn’t have been the way your life ended.”
The Orange County Coroner’s office would not confirm the names of the victims to Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper on Saturday afternoon in a phone interview.
More details to follow.
If you would like to leave a comment about those victims lost, please feel free to leave a comment below.
