2 Teens Killed, 4 Hurt in Freeway Crash

Two Costa Mesa teenagers were killed and four other people were hurt early Saturday when their car crashed into a five-ton Caltrans repair truck on the Santa Ana Freeway in City of Commerce.

Javier Torres, 18, of Santa Ana, was driving south in the fast lane of the freeway about 1:55 a.m. in a 1991 Mercury Tracer, California Highway Patrol Officer Richard Perez said.

At the junction of the Long Beach Freeway, the right lane was closed, Perez said, and for an unknown reason Torres slammed on the brakes. The car careened across the freeway and hit the right guardrail, Perez said.

The car bounced off the rail and crashed into the truck, which was parked on the right shoulder, Perez said.

Two back-seat passengers died at the scene: Alexander Mojica, 16, and Geremie Austin, 18, both of Costa Mesa. Two other back-seat passengers sustained major injuries, Perez said, as did the front-seat passenger. Torres was hospitalized with moderate injuries.