Crews Work to Retrieve 3 Teen Hikers Killed in Crash Off Angeles Crest Highway

ALTADENA, CA - Crews today were working to retrieve the bodies of three people found at the site where a crashed pickup truck went 150 feet over the side of Angeles Crest Highway north of Altadena.

The vehicle was located just after 5 p.m. Monday near mile marker 40, about 9 miles north of the Foothill (210) Freeway, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. A sheriff's helicopter crew reported there were three dead victims at the scene, a dispatcher said.

Efforts were underway to retrieve the bodies from the rugged area and positively identify them, coroner's Chief Brian Elias said.

According to news reports, the victims were Daniel Gamboa, 19; Kasey Vance, 18; and Samantha Ornelas, 17, all of Fontana, who told family members they were going hiking in Angeles National Forest, possibly near Mt. Wilson, where the crashed pickup was found.

Fontana police had said the hikers were believed to be in Gamboa's 2008 white Toyota Tundra pickup truck. Los Angeles County sheriff's and fire department search and rescue teams were searching for the hikers when the vehicle was found.

City News Service