The two people who were killed were identified as Jesse Sandoval, 22, of Lancaster, and Miriam Contreras, 29, of Palmdale, according to the coroner.
The incident began about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when a speeding Camaro collided head-on with another car on Highway 138 at 175th Street East in the High Desert, according to the California Highway Patrol.
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The collision killed the Camaro's 22-year-old male driver and a 29-year-old female passenger in the other vehicle, a Ford Fusion, the CHP said. The Fusion's other three occupants -- the male driver, 31, and two girls, ages 4 and 10 -- suffered major injuries.
Just before impact, investigators said, the 1998 Camaro's driver lost control in a curve and the car spun into an oncoming lane. The collision with the 2012 Fusion split that vehicle in half.
After the initial crash, the driver of a 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser said he hit the overturned Camaro amid low visibility.
The Camaro was positioned "sideways in my lane," the 70-year-old man, who sustained minor injuries, said in an interview at the scene.
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"I swerved," he recalled, "and when I made contact it spun us both around."
The injured girls were airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. The Fusion's driver, a Palmdale resident, was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital.
City News Service contributed to this report.