A 16-year-old driver was killed and his 17-year-old passenger hospitalized early Wednesday in a fiery single-car crash in Costa Mesa that a witness said came after the vehicle was speeding.
Police and firefighters were called to the crash across from Estancia High School about 12:30 a.m. They arrived to find a seriously damaged silver BMW sedan on fire with two people inside.
The driver, Jacob Pacheco of Costa Mesa, was dead, authorities said. His unidentified passenger was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, possibly with a broken jaw, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
The collision, which occurred in the 2300 block of Placentia Avenue (map), followed what a witness described as the BMW traveling at a high rate of speed, police said.
The car swerved, lost control and spun out, ending up on the sidewalk. The driver’s side of the vehicle struck a large tree, killing Pacheco from blunt force trauma, police said.
The driver was identified on the Orange County coroner’s website.
Witnesses were asked to call traffic Investigator Darren Wood at 714-754-5264.