A late-night drive on a rural stretch of Scott Road in Sloughhouse turned tragic early Sunday when a car slammed into a tree and erupted in flames, killing two teenagers and critically injuring three others in eastern Sacramento County.
Emergency crews reached the remote scene just after midnight and found a single vehicle fully engulfed in fire on the two-lane road. The crash shut down routes near Rancho Murieta for several hours while firefighters and law enforcement worked the scene. Officials have released few details about the teens involved or what may have led up to the collision.
Crash details
Crews with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department reported that five people were inside the vehicle. Two were pronounced dead at the scene, and three were rushed to local trauma centers with critical injuries, according to KCRA.
Metro Fire described the incident as a single-vehicle crash in which the car struck a tree on Scott Road, west of Deer Creek Hills Nature Preserve, and then caught fire. The force of the impact and resulting blaze left the vehicle heavily damaged, making the response and rescue effort especially difficult.
Why teen crashes are often deadly
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that drivers ages 16 to 19 face a much higher rate of fatal crashes per mile driven than older motorists. The risks climb even higher late at night and when young drivers have peers riding along…