8 Teens Survive When Car Plunges 200 Feet Over Cliff
05-26-06, 05:41 PM
#1
Lexus Connoisseur
Thread Starter
8 Teens Survive When Car Plunges 200 Feet Over Cliff
http://www.nbc4.tv/traffic/9278850/detail.html
Originally Posted by KNBC4 LA
LOS ANGELES -- Eight youths in a compact car -- two of them in the trunk -- were injured Friday when the car went off Mulholland Drive near Sherman Oaks and tumbled 250 feet down a cliff, authorities said.
The youths were in a Nissan Sentra about 2:20 a.m. near Sevy Lane when the vehicle rolled down the cliff, said Ron Myers of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Deydi Valle, 19, of Anaheim, lost control of his car while rounding a curve. The car hit a telephone pole and went down the embankment into a ravine, rolling several times before coming to rest, said Capt. Nancy Lauer of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The other victims included a 12-year-old boy, three 14-year-old boys, a 15- year-old girl and 16-year-old boy and girl. They reportedly all live in Orange County.
Two of the injured teens were able to walk back to the road, but the other six were stranded below, Myers said.
"These are the luckiest kids in the world," said Capt. Carlos Calvillo of the Los Angeles Fire Department. "They went down a cliff 250 feet in a Nissan Sentra -- eight kids in the car, two in the trunk -- and most of them walked away."
The two who had been in the trunk were especially lucky to survive, he said.
One of the 16-year-olds had a broken back and a collapsed lung, and one of the 14 year-olds suffered a fractured skull and will require surgery. All the others had only minor injuries, Lauer said.
"The number of individuals inside the car, as well as the speed, and the fact that some were not wearing seatbelts, was a significant factor which contributed to this accident," Lauer said.
"The fact that only two were seriously injured is amazing," she added.
By 4:45 a.m., all the victims had been rescued from the bottom of the cliff by an urban search and rescue team using special equipment, Myers said.
Friday afternoon, UCLA Medical Center reported that two of the victims had been treated and released, and one was hospitalized in fair condition.
Valle tested negative for alcohol consumption, and nothing inside the car indicated the juveniles had been drinking. But the driver could face possible child endangerment charges, authorities said.
They were reportedly on their way home from a family party when the crash occurred.
The youths were in a Nissan Sentra about 2:20 a.m. near Sevy Lane when the vehicle rolled down the cliff, said Ron Myers of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Deydi Valle, 19, of Anaheim, lost control of his car while rounding a curve. The car hit a telephone pole and went down the embankment into a ravine, rolling several times before coming to rest, said Capt. Nancy Lauer of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The other victims included a 12-year-old boy, three 14-year-old boys, a 15- year-old girl and 16-year-old boy and girl. They reportedly all live in Orange County.
Two of the injured teens were able to walk back to the road, but the other six were stranded below, Myers said.
"These are the luckiest kids in the world," said Capt. Carlos Calvillo of the Los Angeles Fire Department. "They went down a cliff 250 feet in a Nissan Sentra -- eight kids in the car, two in the trunk -- and most of them walked away."
The two who had been in the trunk were especially lucky to survive, he said.
One of the 16-year-olds had a broken back and a collapsed lung, and one of the 14 year-olds suffered a fractured skull and will require surgery. All the others had only minor injuries, Lauer said.
"The number of individuals inside the car, as well as the speed, and the fact that some were not wearing seatbelts, was a significant factor which contributed to this accident," Lauer said.
"The fact that only two were seriously injured is amazing," she added.
By 4:45 a.m., all the victims had been rescued from the bottom of the cliff by an urban search and rescue team using special equipment, Myers said.
Friday afternoon, UCLA Medical Center reported that two of the victims had been treated and released, and one was hospitalized in fair condition.
Valle tested negative for alcohol consumption, and nothing inside the car indicated the juveniles had been drinking. But the driver could face possible child endangerment charges, authorities said.
They were reportedly on their way home from a family party when the crash occurred.
05-26-06, 05:42 PM
#2
Lexus Connoisseur
Thread Starter
6 kids in the passenger cabin, and TWO in the trunk. 
05-26-06, 09:10 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: NYC Raised But ATL is where I stay.
Posts: 1,809
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Unreal
Originally Posted by magneto112
WOW. 2 in the trunk?!?! Of a Sentra?!?! Out of control.
05-27-06, 02:57 AM
#6
Keeper of the light
iTrader: (17)
What's that movie where they escape death and it comes back after them? Final.... destination?
Anyway, thanks to that movie if I ever get as lucky as these idiot kids were, I'd look over my shoulder every second of the day.
Anyway, thanks to that movie if I ever get as lucky as these idiot kids were, I'd look over my shoulder every second of the day.
05-27-06, 05:50 AM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
EIGHT kids in a Sentra? 
I think one of the things that kept more of these kids from not getting seriously hurt or killed was the fact that they were all young and strong.
This reminds me of one of the famous college stunts when I was growing up...when you would see how many guys you could stuff into an old air-cooled VW Beetle any way you could. ( not moving, of course ). Different colleges were always trying to break the record.
Anyhow, back to this accident. One of the things, obviously, that they need to teach more of in driving school is that those vehicle seating and weight limits posted on the door jambs and in the Owners' Manual MEAN what they say.
...although the engineers do allow a reasonable safety margin. But this car was not only seriously overloaded.....more than the powertrain, suspension, tires, and brakes could handle, but with 8 kids in the car at least several of them were obviously not belted up. and with that much weight in the car, they probably came up on that sharp curve, tried to steer, and the car simply couldn't respond...they went right over the cliff. Or they might have blown a front tire.
This is part of what contributed to the famous series of Ford Explorer tire failures and rollover accidents with the Firestone Wilderness tires......not only marginal suspension and tire design and air pressures but the tendency of some owners to overload their vehicles and drive them on hot road surfaces.
I think one of the things that kept more of these kids from not getting seriously hurt or killed was the fact that they were all young and strong.
This reminds me of one of the famous college stunts when I was growing up...when you would see how many guys you could stuff into an old air-cooled VW Beetle any way you could. ( not moving, of course ). Different colleges were always trying to break the record.
Anyhow, back to this accident. One of the things, obviously, that they need to teach more of in driving school is that those vehicle seating and weight limits posted on the door jambs and in the Owners' Manual MEAN what they say.
...although the engineers do allow a reasonable safety margin. But this car was not only seriously overloaded.....more than the powertrain, suspension, tires, and brakes could handle, but with 8 kids in the car at least several of them were obviously not belted up. and with that much weight in the car, they probably came up on that sharp curve, tried to steer, and the car simply couldn't respond...they went right over the cliff. Or they might have blown a front tire. This is part of what contributed to the famous series of Ford Explorer tire failures and rollover accidents with the Firestone Wilderness tires......not only marginal suspension and tire design and air pressures but the tendency of some owners to overload their vehicles and drive them on hot road surfaces.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-27-06 at 06:04 AM.
Trending Topics
05-27-06, 06:49 AM
#8
Super Moderator
Originally Posted by flipside909
They were reportedly on their way home from a family party when the crash occurred.
05-27-06, 07:25 AM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by LexArazzo
If true, they must not be well supervised by their families allowing them to stuff into a small car like this, with 2 in the trunk
)This is not just a parental supervision problem...although, as you point out, that contributed to it.
Grossly overloading a vehicle is just plain stupidity, parents or no parents.....and shows that driving schools are either not doing their jobs or kids just aren't listening.
We here on CAR CHAT talk about things like this, but we are basically just car people who donate our time to talk to and educate each other. Driving schools, on the other hand, get PAID to teach safe driving.
05-27-06, 07:49 AM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: SoCal
Posts: 994
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by LexArazzo
If true, they must not be well supervised by their families allowing them to stuff into a small car like this, with 2 in the trunk
I just read this in the paper. As a parent, hearing about stuff like this makes me mad. Especially if they are coming back from a FAMILY party... can you imagine that conversation...
"Hey mom/dad! I'm going home now in my 4-seat Sentra, and I'm gonna take my 7 brothers/sisters/cousins/friends with me"
"Really? How are you going to get everybody into your car?"
"Oh, it's no big deal, we'll completely jam up the inside part and then put the small guys into the trunk area"
"Ok honey, see you later, we're going to stay here at this party and ignore all responsibility we have as parents"
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
LexFather
Car Chat
17
03-03-10 01:11 PM
