OC Teen Suspected Of DUI In 5 Freeway Crash That Killed Two

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A teenager was arrested on suspicion of DUI in a crash that killed two people on the Golden State (5) Freeway in the Santa Fe Springs area Tuesday morning.

California Highway Patrol officers responded at 1:35 a.m. to the southbound side of the freeway at the Carmenita Road exit where they found driver Landon Hazelwood, a 19-year-old from Garden Grove, and the two people killed in the crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.

According to the CHP, Hazelwood veered his Honda into a stalled truck.

"For unknown reasons, the Honda veered to the right and collided with the left rear of a stopped tractor-trailer on the right shoulder of the freeway," the CHP wrote in an email to Patch.

The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, including one person who was ejected from the vehicle, CHP officials said.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years and this is a pretty bad one,” CHP Sgt. Olivera told KTLA.

One of the victims was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as Lance Paul Erskine, 20, of Fountain Valley. Information was not immediately available on the identity of the other fatally injured person.

Hazelwood was taken to a hospital and arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, according to the CHP.

The CHP issued a SigAlert that closed all lanes of the southbound freeway for several hours while officers investigated the crash.

City News Service contributed to this report.