Wilmington crash victims identified as siblings, Banning High students

Authorities have identified two people killed in a wrong-way crash in Wilmington on Thursday as a brother and sister who attended Banning High School.

Elias Garcia, 16, and Elexis Garcia, 18, were pronounced dead at the scene on Pacific Coast Highway on Thursday afternoon after police say the car they were in drove the wrong way on the highway and collided with a passenger van.

The crash occurred in the 300 block of PCH about 3:15 p.m. not long after the school had let out for the day. Police said the Garcias were in the front seats of a Honda Civic with two other students in the back when it lost control and steered into oncoming traffic.

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For the record

8:48 a.m.: An earlier version of this post misspelled victim Elexis Garcia’s first name as Alexis.

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Witnesses reported seeing the Civic speeding alongside another car but it wasn’t clear if the two vehicles were racing, said Sgt. Edward Bernal of the Los Angeles Schools Police Department.

After the Civic collided with the van, the vehicle that was speeding next to the Civic continued on without stopping and now the driver is wanted for questioning, Bernal said.

The Banning High School principal was taken to the scene of the crash to identify the bodies, Bernal said. The two students in the rear seats were taken to a local hospital in stable condition. One of the students has since been released, KABC-TV reported.

A third person, the woman driving the van, suffered minor injuries.

Los Angeles police Lt. Darryl Martin said that because PCH is wide in that area, racing is not uncommon. “Unfortunately, these things happen,” he said.

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