Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base sign outside the main gate of the base in Oceanside, Calif. Three Marines stationed at the base died Saturday in a one-car crash near Los Angeles. (San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Four people, including three U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton, were killed in a fiery one-vehicle crash Saturday morning on Interstate 5 in Downey, Calif., authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol received a call around 2:30 a.m. about a crash of a 2018 Dodge Charger on the southbound 5 Freeway, according to CHP Officer Zachary Salazar.
The investigation found that the driver lost control of the car, which struck a metal guard rail and a concrete pillar of a pedestrian bridge, according to Salazar. The force of the impact caused the car to split in half, ejecting the two passengers in the back of the car onto the right shoulder.
The front of the vehicle became completely engulfed in flames and was on fire when CHP officers arrived. All four people were pronounced dead at the scene.
"It's unknown if the force of the impact or the subsequent fire was the cause of death for the people in the front," Salazar said.
The Los Angeles County coroner identified three of the victims as 27-year-old Joshua Leandra Moore Jr., 26-year-old Daniel Nichols and 21-year-old Rodrigro Zermeno Gomez. The coroner's office did not say if the identified victims were all Marines. The fourth victim remained unidentified.
Military officials confirmed that three of the victims were Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton, KTLA-TV reported.
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