UPDATE: Drugs and alcohol contributing factors in crash that killed 3 Hemet teens in Murrieta, officials announce

Trevor Montgomery

 

MURRIETA – Toxicology reports from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office and a press release recently issued from the Murrieta Police Department have finally begun to shed new light into a fatal accident in Murrieta that took the lives of three young Hemet residents.

The coroner’s office identified the three teens killed in the fatal traffic collision on Winchester Road on Jan. 16, as Anthony Aleman, 16, Kennedy Kile III, 13, and Tate Herman, 18. All three teens were residents of Hemet.

Murrieta Police Lieutenant Tony Conrad, explained in a press release, “As part of the autopsy and investigation into this incident, the Riverside County Coroner’s Office conducted toxicology tests. The results by Murrieta Traffic Investigators confirmed that both drugs and alcohol were contributing factors in the collision. Specific toxicology results on each of the vehicle’s occupants will not be released.”

“An opened bottle of hard liquor, half empty, was found at the scene of the collision,” Conrad wrote. “This bottle, as well as another identical sealed full bottle found in the vehicle, was later determined to have been shop-lifted from a liquor store in Hemet earlier in the evening.”

The Crash that changed three families’ lives forever

The tragic incident unfolded early Saturday morning, Jan. 16, when the three teens were killed in a single-vehicle rollover traffic collision.

Murrieta police responded to the 1:48 a.m crash. According to police officials, the fatal accident occurred near the intersection of Winchester Road and Max Gillis Blvd.

Upon arrival, officers found a destroyed, silver, 2002 Lexus 300 in a field. At the time, officials stated the car appeared to have veered off the road immediately preceding the accident.

Firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene of the fatal accident, however the driver and two passengers were found unresponsive. Emergency first responders pronounced all three teens dead at the scene.

Some questions finally being answered

“The Murrieta Police Department’s Traffic Bureau is still completing the traffic collision investigation, but are now been able to answer several key questions about the collision from the investigation that has been completed so far,” according to Conrad.

“Murrieta Traffic Investigators determined the driver lost control of the vehicle at a speed significantly higher than the posted limit of 55 mph. This part of the investigation is still ongoing, and the vehicle’s actual speed has not been determined,” Conrad wrote. “No other vehicle was involved in the collision, and the investigation has not revealed any mechanical problems with the 2002 Lexus IS300.”

“A single witness northbound on Winchester Road observed the southbound Winchester Road Lexus lose control at an estimated 90 mph, hit the guard rail, and leave the roadway,” according to Conrad. “The investigation determined none of the occupants were ejected. All were wearing their seat belts and located in their seats at the point of rest west off Winchester Road in a dirt field.”

During their investigation into the fatal traffic collision, Murrieta PD officials determined the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident was 16-year-old Anthony Aleman. The young man did not have a valid driver’s license, according to Conrad. On the evening of the accident, Aleman reportedly snuck out and took the vehicle from family members without their knowledge, while they were asleep.

“The right front seat passenger was 13 year old Kile Kennedy, and the rear seat passenger was 18 year old Tate Herman,” Conrad wrote.

“No criminal charges are being filed with the Riverside District Attorney in this case,” according to Conrad. “This decision is based on several factors, including the fact that the car was taken without permission by the driver without the knowledge of family members, and the fact that the alcohol located in the vehicle was shop lifted earlier in the evening by the deceased occupants of the car.”

 

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