Cause of crash that killed teen still unknown
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IB ContributorMarch 31, 2007 11:45 PMPolice still don't know what caused the car accident that killed 17-year-old Kevin Normington earlier this month, according to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Those who knew the popular Bonita High School student have grasped for answers about his death as speculation has mounted over whether alcohol or a missed stop sign could be to blame. Investigators, however, say it is still too early to tell.
Kevin Normington died on March 1 while driving to his mother's Upland home from his job at Warehouse Pizza in La Verne. He was killed at Arrow Highway and Fulton Road in Pomona around 10 p.m. when he collided with an Audi and was ejected from his Chevrolet Trailblazer.
According to the police report, the driver of the Audi, Craig Diss, 23, of Irvine, and his passenger, Sajan Hansji, 24, of Pomona, were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center after the crash. Their conditions were not serious when they were taken to the hospital and they were released shortly afterward, the article said.
No arrests have been made, but police are waiting for the coroner's toxicology test reports to find out whether alcohol was involved. Police are also investigating whether the Audi could have run a stop sign.
Kevin was driving east on Arrow Highway and did not have a stop sign at the intersection. Diss was going north on Fulton, a street that has a stop sign. Kevin's father, John , said he believes the stop-sign scenario is the likely cause of the crash.
"The police said the other driver said, 'I gunned through the stop sign,'" Normington said.
Like all parents who have the horrible misfortune of losing their children under such tragic circumstances, this dad is looking for closure and justice.
The investigation is ongoing, of course. But based on this story if the teenager was driving from his job to his mother's house and the driver of the Audi reportedly admitted to "gunning down the stop sign," well, one can only put two and two together. Alcohol could always be a factor and investigators would want to rule that possibility out.