The community is absolutely shell-shocked by this accident. There are a lot of tears and a lot of grief as investigators continue to uncover more answers.
The accident happened on Dublin Canyon Road, which remains closed more than 17 hours after the fact. Just rubble and spare parts is what's left of a 1997 corvette that trapped two teenagers in the front seat after a fatal crash at 12:45 on Tuesday morning.
The driver, 18 year old Clark Wright and passenger 17-year-old Sarah Streicher died at the scene. Streicher would have been a senior at Castro Valley High School -- Wright just graduated in June.
Investigators with the CHP spent the whole day carefully combing the 600-foot accident scene and measured the 300 feet of skid marks. The front tire landed 1/2 mile away after impact
"In my 31 years on the job, I've never seen longer skid marks, so it illustrates the dangers of street racing and what can result when you're out here driving at excessive speeds," said Asst. Chief Jon Lopey, CHP.
After talking with witnesses, the CHP says they know the Corvette was street racing with a BMW earlier last night.
The BMW and its 18-year-old driver and 17-year-old passenger were at the accident scene when officers arrived. No one in the BMW was hurt.
"What we're really investigating and trying to determine is whether the Corvette, on its own, took off and was involved in a high speed collision only, or whether a race was reinitiated on the westbound leg and they actually crashed while racing again," says Lt. Steve Creel, CHP.
Nearby residents reported hearing an explosion when the Corvette lost control on a curve in Dublin Canyon Road and hit the curb, struck a fence and snapped a power pole before landing on its roof.
Stunned friends gathered at Castro Valley's First Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon. The families of both teens requested the gathering be private.
"Right now, we're setting up counseling services. Our lead counselor has already established we'll have counselors on campus," says Castro Valley H.S. Principal Pete Alvarez.
School starts in just two weeks. Both Streicher and Wright worked at the local grocery store.
"He's a good worker. You're always complaining about someone not doing their job. It wasn't Clark. If you're working with him, you know he's got your back covered. He'd be doing stuff to help you. It's just surprising you know, they're not going to be there. The next day, you're not going to see them again," says co-worker Chris Garcia.
CHP says to prevent street racing, they are able to look into the internet and other sources. Nevertheless, spontaneous street racing is almost impossible to prevent. They don't believe alcohol was involved and they are looking into whether extreme speed was involved in this fatal accident.
Related Link:
SLIDE SHOW: Castro Valley teens crash
