Authorities on Friday released the names of the four adults and 7-year-old boy who were killed the previous evening when an out-of-control car slammed into another car near a freeway exit in Ontario.
The collision occurred about 7 p.m. Thursday when a subcompact Toyota began to accelerate uncontrollably while traveling eastbound on the 10 Freeway, according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Coroner Division.
Unable to stop the car or slow its speed, the driver maneuvered the Toyota onto the Vineyard Avenue offramp, where it broadsided a car that was moving northbound on the street, the news release said.
All four of the second vehicle’s occupants — a woman and three men — died at the scene, said the Sheriff’s Department, which identified them as: Matthew Pusateri, 29, of Mission Viejo; Anthony Flores, 30, of Hemet; Jeffrey Willey, 29, of Huntington Beach; and Monica Flores, 37, of Arcadia.
Michael Pineda, 7, a passenger in the Toyota, was transported to San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room, according to the statement.
The crash was under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Christina Wood told the Los Angeles Times on Friday that CHP investigators did not believe the 51-year-old woman driving the Toyota was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The woman, who was cooperating with investigators, remained hospitalized at Loma Linda University Medical Center, along with a 12-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy who were passengers in the out-of-control car, The Times reported.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misreported the gender of the 16-year-old passenger of the Toyota. The post has been updated.
