5 Central Coast teens killed after car plows into traffic signal

Five teenagers were killed in a brutal car crash over the weekend on the Central Coast with one survivor. 

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The crash happened at approximately 1:40 a.m. Sunday in Santa Maria when the car slammed into a traffic signal at the intersection of South Broadway (state Route 135) and South Miller Street, the Santa Maria Police Department said in a statement.

Four of those in the car, all teenagers, were pronounced dead at the scene. Two additional people who initially survived the crash were transported to a local hospital. 

One person eventually succumbed to their injuries, and the other, identified as Aurelio Calixtro Matias, 24, is still in critical condition, police said. 

Investigators haven’t determined the cause of the crash but suspect alcohol and speeding could’ve been factors, the police department said. Police did not disclose which person was driving at the time of the crash.

Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call the police department at 805-928-3781.

Authorities identified the teenagers who died as Isabella Star Vigil, 16, Nicolas Munoz-Gautreaux, 17, Jennifer Gutierrez, 19, Guendi Beatrice Gamez Escalante, 16, and Yusbeli Diaz Galvez, 17.

Respective GoFundMe fundraisers have been created for each of the teenagers, each one raising thousands of dollars for the families as of Wednesday afternoon. 

According to a fundraiser for Diaz Galvez, she was one of the people who made it to the hospital, though she did not survive. 

“After the accident, [Diaz Galvez] was transported to the hospital, where she fought courageously until the very end. Despite the efforts of her medical team and the prayers of those who loved her, she sadly passed away, leaving behind a family and community whose lives will never be the same,” the page read.

Another teenager, Isabella, or “Bella,” was described by her family as a “bright, beautiful soul” leaving an “unimaginable void” in her loved ones’ lives. 

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Escalante’s cousin created her fundraiser and said the mother’s pain after the loss is “unimaginable.” 

“She is a single mother, and the financial burden on top of her grief is overwhelming,” the cousin wrote.

In the fundraiser for Gutierrez, her older sister wrote that the teenager was just weeks away from turning 20. “She was there for everyone. She had the silliest laugh, biggest smiles, and gave the best hugs,” the sister wrote.

The best friend of Munoz-Gautreaux’s mother set up a page for her friend’s son, calling the loss sudden and unexpected. 

“There are no words for this kind of heartbreak. No mother should ever have to say goodbye to her child. ​I want to wrap my friend in love and lift this this heavy burden,” the friend wrote.

Some of the teenagers attended school in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District and Lompoc Unified School District. Representatives from the districts did not respond to SFGATE’s requests for comment.

On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors held a moment of silence at its meeting in honor of the teenagers, local news outlet Noozhawk reported.

There is a growing memorial near Waller Park in Santa Maria with flowers, candles and photos dedicated to the teenagers.