San Diego Teens On Way To Coachella Involved In Fatal BMW Crash Identified

A San Diego teenager was killed and her two companions were injured when their BMW crashed into trees on the way to the Coachella Valley Music Festival, the CHP reported.

Manuela Cerciello Rahbari, a 16-year-old girl passenger from San Diego, was taken by ambulance to Desert Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

The driver, 21-year-old Cesar Hernandez Ozuna, was also take to the medical center with lacerations to his face.

The crash happened shortly after 4 a.m. on Thursday as the 2009 BMW 328i was heading east on Interstate 10 just west of Hargrave Street in Banning. The driver let the car drift off the roadway onto the dirt shoulder and then lost control, investigators said. The car went over an embankment and slammed into two trees. The collision was so violent that the car split into two pieces. An 18-year-old woman sitting in the back seat was ejected from the car and died from her injuries at the scene. The victim’s name was not immediately released, but she was a San Diego resident, the CHP said. source

The BMW was loaded with food, alcohol and camping supplies because the three San Diegans were headed to the Coachella Valley Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, the CHP said. Although alcohol was in the car, investigators ruled out drugs or alcohol as a factor in the crash.