3 dead and 3 injured when car crashes into utility pole in Pasadena, California, knocking out power

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A speeding car ran a red light, hit a curb and flew into a utility pole and an unoccupied building, killing three people, seriously injuring three others and knocking out power to hundreds of residents in Pasadena, California , authorities said.

According to Pasadena police, the fiery single-vehicle crash occurred around 2:30 a.m. Saturday when a Tesla sedan carrying six people was traveling at more than twice the speed limit of 35 miles per hour.

Three of the passengers were thrown from the back seat, police said. The driver and two of the passengers died at the scene of the accident. Three other passengers were hospitalized in serious condition, officials said.

All six occupants of the car were between 17 and 22 years old, the Los Angeles Times reported. They were not immediately identified.

A preliminary investigation suggests the driver “failed to negotiate a slight curve,” causing the car to crash into the curb, police Lt. Anthony Russo said. The car flew through the air, hit the pole and then crashed through a wall of the building, he said.

Russo said there are early indications that alcohol may have been a factor, but investigators have not confirmed whether the driver was impaired.

Power has been restored to more than 500 homes and businesses that lost power due to the collision, according to Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena.