ISLAND COUNTY, WA – A 19-year-old man from Palmdale is believed to be one of three men killed in a fiery car crash around midnight Friday on Whidbey Island, one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington about 30 miles north of Seattle.
According to published reports, Mack Porter, 19, who relocated from Palmdale to Washington two years ago, was one of three passengers killed in the crash.
According to the Washington State Patrol, 18-year-old Kaylea Souza was behind the wheel of a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu when she lost control while passing another car and struck a tree. The Washington State Patrol believes speed and alcohol were factors in the accident.
Witnesses were able to get Souza out of the vehicle, but the vehicle erupted in flames before the three passengers could be rescued, according to published reports.
The Washington State Patrol has not officially identified the three passengers killed in the crash.
“The bodies were extremely burned inside the vehicle, so we have to be extra careful to ensure that who we believe to have been inside the vehicle are the actual people,” said State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary Monday. “We are waiting for their dental records to be identified from the coroners.”
Leary said the Coroner’s Office will be performing the autopsies Tuesday and will be officially releasing the names, either late Tuesday or Wednesday.
According to published reports, officials have already notified the victims’ families. And the South Whidbey Record has identified the dead as Rob Knight, 22, Mick Poynter, 20, and Mack Porter, 19.
The driver, Souza, escaped the crash with minor injuries and was arrested for investigation of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence. She was booked at the Island County jail with bail set at $150,000.