Police say the deadly wreck was caused by an impaired driver who was later arrested on felony DUI and four counts of murder.
The people who died in the crash have been identified as: Jose Alberto Avila-Rosas, 31, of Santa Ana, who was driving the vehicle that was struck; and passengers Ziomara Zaragoza, 23, of Garden Grove; Antonio Alonso Santibanez, 23, of Orange; and Prisma Yuliana Montoya, 34, of Santa Ana.
The crash happened around 2:30 a.m. near 4th Street and Tustin Avenue, Santa Ana police said.
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A black Jeep was traveling westbound on 4th Street and a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was traveling southbound on Tustin when the Jeep ran a red light.
The vehicles collided and flipped multiple times, one of them bursting into flames, police said.
An off-duty firefighter happened to be in the area at the time, along with his wife who is a nurse. They were able to put out the flames and render aid at the scene.
Peter Aguilar, the firefighter with the West Covina department, said he and his wife were returning from a coworker's birthday party when they came across the crash scene. They jumped out of their Uber and began helping.
"Getting out of the car, it kind of felt like I was here at work," Aguilar said. "I started to make sure my wife was safe, make sure everybody who was there was safe and trying to get a whole picture so I could relay it to the dispatchers and to the other first responders."
The driver and three passengers inside the Chevy truck were killed, and the driver of the Jeep was transported to a nearby hospital initially in critical condition.
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Authorities said that 28-year-old driver, identified as Vincent Michael Calvo of Buena Park, appeared to be extremely impaired at the scene. He was later released from the hospital and arrested with bail set at $4 million.
Police said surveillance video clearly shows the Jeep blowing through the red light and slamming into the truck.