Drunk driver kills 19-yr-old CSUN student, injures 4 others

A suspected drunken driver has killed a 19-year-old California State University, Northridge, Desirae Crystal Crittende, in a ghastly two-car crash.

Quoting the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), KTLA reports that the driver, accused of driving under the influence (DUI), had slammed his Honda Civic into the driver’s side door of a red Ford Mustang at an intersection around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday.

One of the vehicles was engulfed in flames, the police said.

According to LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division, five people - three females, and two males, sustained various degrees of injuries.

LAPD Det. William Bustos said one of the victims was Crittende who was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Unfortunately, due to the tremendous amount of impact on to that driver’s side door… a 19-year-old female lost her life here at the scene,” Bustos said.

Dwight Johnson, the father of one of the victims, who is also Crittende's best friend, told KTLA his daughter's account of the accident.

“According to my daughter, they were laughing and talking and she said the next thing that she knew … she realized that someone had hit them,” Johnson said.

He added that his daughter was recovering but saddened by her friend’s death.

A passenger in the Honda driven by the DUI driver also sustained life threatening injuries and is not expected to survivor.

The 21-year-old driver himself has been arrested and charged with suspicion driving under the influence.

An eyewitness said beer cans were picked up at the scene of the accident.