Hemet Double Fatal Thanksgiving Crash Involved 100 mph Car: Cops

HEMET, CA — Two people killed in a speeding Volkswagen in Hemet were identified Friday by the Riverside County coroner's office.

They were Margaret Avina, 33, and Nicholas Macias, 22, both of Hemet.

Witnesses told police the Volkswagen driven by Macias was speeding through streets in Hemet at up to 100 miles per hour moments before he ran a stop sign and struck a Dodge truck. The two people in the truck survived.

Police were called just before 2 a.m. Thursday to Buena Vista Street and Whittier Avenue, and found the Volkswagen "partially wrapped around a tree" just west of the intersection, said Hemet police Lt. Eric Dickson. The truck had run into a fence northwest of the intersection.

Avina and Macias were pronounced dead at the scene, the coroner's office said.

The man driving the truck was not injured and his female passenger was taken to a hospital where she was expected to recover from her injuries, Dickson said.

An investigation revealed that the sedan was speeding between 90 to 100 miles per hour westbound on Whittier Avenue when it ran a stop sign and struck the front corner of the Dodge truck, he said.

"At this time it is believed that alcohol may have been a factor with the Volkswagen and that the driver of the Dodge may have been impaired as well," Dickson said. "However, the investigation is ongoing."

Hemet police asked anyone who saw the crash to call them at (951) 765-2400.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone