SAN DIEGO -- The teenager driving a car that crashed during a freeway race late Wednesday, killing two friends and critically injuring two others, had been driving less than five months and shouldn't have had other teenagers in the car, investigators said.
The double fatality on eastbound state Route 52 at Convoy Street was reported at 11:46 p.m. Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Witnesses told the CHP that all five teens were in a Volkswagen Passat that was racing with a Volvo S40 at speeds between 100 and 110 miles per hour when the crash happened. CHP Sgt. Kevin Mensior told reporters the teens were from an East County high school and were headed home from a beach party in La Jolla.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office identified the deceased as Santee residents Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jaylie James Campbell, 16. They were each rear-seat passengers in the Passat and both were ejected from the vehicle, the Medical Examiner's Office reported.
It appeared that neither was wearing a seatbelt, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Art Athans.
"Me and my husband (Robert) were talking. You tell your kids no drugs, no drinking," said Theresa Campbell, mother of Jaylie Campbell. "We never talked about speeding. That didn't come up. Of course why would it? He's not driving yet."
"If I had known he was in that car, it would have been a no-no," said Robert Campbell, shaking his head. "I hope this accident sets a message for everybody. It needs to stop."
The driver of the Volkswagen, a 16-year-old boy, sustained moderate injuries in the crash, while his other two passengers -- a 15-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy -- sustained major, life-threatening injuries, according to the CHP. All three were taken by ambulances to Sharp Memorial Hospital. All of the teens live in Santee.
The boy driving the Volkswagen received his driver's license less than 5 months ago, Athans told reporters Thursday morning. Under California law, he should not have been driving after 11 p.m. and he was not allowed to drive with other teenagers in the car, Athans added. Investigators determined that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the collision.
The driver of the Volvo, Michael S. Johnson, an 18-year-old student who lives in Lakeside and also attended the party, was arrested and booked into San Diego County Jail, the CHP reported. He was suspected of being under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash, according to the CHP.
Johnson was released from jail Thursday afternoon after posting bail, which was set at $50,000, U-T San Diego reported.
The Volvo did not crash and no one in the vehicle was injured.
