Four people died and two others were critically injured after a Hyundai carrying six people left Highway 2 and rolled down an embankment.
WRIGHTWOOD, CA — None of the six people involved in a deadly rollover crash near Wrightwood appeared to be wearing seat belts when their car left State Route 2 early Friday, according to a preliminary California Highway Patrol investigation that also identified alcohol as a likely contributing factor.
Four people were pronounced dead at the scene of the Sept. 4 crash, while two others were taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in critical condition, the CHP said. Authorities said all six occupants were from the Wrightwood area. Their identities had not been officially released as investigators continued working to determine exactly what led to the crash.
The crash occurred at about 1:30 a.m. along State Route 2 near Flume Canyon Road, between Big Pines and Wrightwood on the eastern edge of the Angeles National Forest. According to the CHP, a black 2016 Hyundai Veloster was traveling east when the driver allowed the vehicle to veer to the right and leave the roadway.
The Hyundai overturned, traveled down an embankment and struck a power pole, authorities said. Five of the six occupants were ejected from the vehicle. Four of those who were ejected suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CHP. The agency said the two surviving occupants were hospitalized in critical condition.
The CHP said its preliminary investigation indicated that none of the occupants was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision and that alcohol was likely a contributing factor. Those findings remain preliminary, and investigators have not announced a final cause of the crash or provided additional details about how alcohol may have been involved.
There was some conflicting information Friday about seat belt use. The Los Angeles Times, citing San Bernardino County Fire Department public information officer Chris Prater, reported that rescuers determined one occupant had been wearing a seat belt but removed it before getting out of the wreckage. The CHP’s later preliminary statement said none of the occupants was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision. Authorities had not publicly reconciled those accounts.
Emergency crews faced a difficult rescue operation because several occupants were scattered outside the vehicle and responders initially did not know how many people had been traveling in the car. The San Bernardino County Fire Department said it received a report of the crash around 1:40 a.m. and sent an ambulance, a medic engine and air ambulances to the scene.
The six occupants were described by authorities as three males and three females. ABC7 reported that two men and two women were among those killed. Officials had not released their names or ages as of Saturday, and no additional update had been announced on the conditions of the two hospitalized survivors.
The crash remains under investigation by the CHP’s Antelope Valley Area office. Investigators are continuing to examine why the vehicle left the roadway, whether alcohol played a role and other circumstances surrounding the collision.
Author note: Last updated September 5, 2026.