Orange County Teen Killed In Crash While Driving To School

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — An 11th grade student at El Dorado High School died Tuesday when his 1984 Corvette collided with a Range Rover while he was driving him and his friends to school.

Classmates and loved ones identified the student who was killed as 17-year-old Zach Henn, a junior at the high school, KTLA reported.

The crash was reported at around 8:20 a.m. at Yorba Linda Boulevard and Valencia Avenue, the Placentia Police Department reported.

Upon arriving, officers found the teen trapped inside his 1984 Corvette that he had just bought a few weeks ago, KTLA reported.

Firefighters and paramedics extricated Henn from his car and moved him to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Henn's passenger, another teenage boy, had exited the car under his own power and was located at the scene before being taken to a hospital with non-lift-threatening injuries, authorities said.

The occupants of the other vehicle — a range rover driven by a 39-year-old woman carrying two children — were also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Henn's friends, classmates and loved ones were shocked by the news of the junior's death, KTLA reported. The junior ran for the school's track team and was described as a free spirit who lived life to the fullest.

"I just saw him yesterday," student and friend Jacob Estrada told KTLA. "He was telling me how things were going, how he's always busy. He had a new job and a new car, too. He was super excited about [the Corvette]. He loved it and loved working on it all the time."

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District officials issued a statement regarding the incident.

"Our entire school district is overwhelmed with grief beyond words," Superintendent Alex Cherniss said in a statement. "During this incredibly challenging time, we ask for your compassion in respecting the privacy of our student's loved ones, and to keep them in your thoughts and prayers."

Additional support staff and counselors were sent to the El Dorado campus and other schools following the crash.

Placentia police urged anyone with information regarding the crash to call them at 714-993-8157.

No further information was immediately available.