One teenager was killed this weekend and four others were badly hurt when the car they were in crashed on Highway 74 off Carrizo Road in Pinyon Pines, south of Palm Desert.
It happened at about 7:40pm Sunday, according to CHP Officer Eric Nolte. The vehicle fell about 20 feet on top of rocks and bushes.
Lydia Emer, 18, of Bermuda Dunes, was driving a 2008 Dodge Caliber east when her vehicle drifted onto the right side of the road and went down the embankment, Nolte said.
The vehicle struck a rock outcropping before flipping onto its roof, he said.
A 17-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, according to coroner reports. She was identified Monday as Lisel J. Wiedemann, a student at Palm Desert High School.
Two of the injured are also students at the same high school, and KPSP spoke with the school's principal shortly before he was to tell the student body the sad news about the crash.
"Every student here is important. Every student is a part of our family here in school, and so its difficult," said Patrick Walsh, principal of Palm Desert High School. "It's one of those things that our job now is to support our students.
Emer, along with Joseph Nicol, 18, of Mountain Center, an unidentified 17-year-old girl, and Raul Gonzalez, 18, of Palm Desert, were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment of moderate to critical injuries, according to Nolte.
Nicol suffered a brain injury, collapsed lungs and a broken back, the officer said. Gonzalez reported back pain and the 17-year-old girl complained of pain to her elbow and head.
Emer suffered laceration to her cheek and arms.
