Two teens and their 20-year-old driver died after the car they were traveling in hit a curb and flipped over near Franklin Mills Road, according to Philadelphia Police.
The violent, one-car crash occurred just before 8 p.m. Wednesday at 903 Franklin Mills Circle in Northeast Philadelphia.
All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
The red 1995 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by Anthony "Tony" Christensen of nearby Bensalem, was traveling northbound at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control, cops said.
Christensen, 20, and 18-year-old Christopher Alcalde, a recent Northeast Philadelphia High School grad, were both thrown from the car. Neither was wearing a seat belt, police said.
Alcalde planned to visit Colombia this summer to visit his mother and learn Spanish, said his grandmother Elvia Alcalde.
But that dream was dashed as were those of the youngest victim, Lucrecia Santamaria, a 15-year-old Bensalem High School student. She was wearing a seat belt at the time of the wreck and had to be cut out of the passenger side of the car, according to police.
"She was my flower actually she was my only daughter. I'm really devastated," said Lucrecia's father Juan Santamaria.
Christensen, a recent Lincoln Tech grad, had just been given the car as a Christmas gift, his family said.
"He was a lovable kid," said Tony's father Bruce Christensen. "He always had a smile on his face."
The car appeared to be going about 70 to 75 mph, one witness said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"It appears that the vehicle was traveling at a very high rate of speed just because of the damage to the vehicle and some of the gouge marks in the street and on the grass right before the vehicle flipped," Chief Inspector Scott Small. "Three of the four tires were torn off the vehicle."
"They thinking their invincible because you're a teenager or just anyone, it's a lie because it could happen to anyone," said Lucrecia's brother Joshua Santamaria.
Investigators were waiting for toxicology results to see if the driver was impaired and they were also pouring over surveillance video to see if another car was possibly involved, they said.
Christensen's family believes that he was blinded by the lights from another car and lost control of his Grand Am.
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, our mobile site and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
