Riverside, Ca- The Riverside Police Department Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating a fatal single-vehicle car crash that occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2005, on northbound Canyon Crest Drive, just south of the intersection with Via Conception.

Deceased is a 14-year-old female passenger, identified by the Riverside County Coroner as Alyssa Hirahara, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. One of four teens in the vehicle, Hirahara was pronounced dead at the scene.

Preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle, a 2001 Nissan Sentra, was traveling northbound on a downhill slope of Canyon Crest Drive at a very high rate of speed when the driver lost control. The skidding vehicle spun around, traveling backwards when it struck a palm tree in the median. The vehicle spun away from the tree, coming to a rest some distance away in the northbound lane.

An 18-year-old male passenger was ejected from the vehicle during the crash. He was transported to Riverside Community Hospital in critical condition. A second female passenger, age 14, was transported to Riverside County Regional Medical Center, also in critical condition. Both female passengers were 9th grade students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside. The passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

The driver, a 17-year-old Riverside male, sustained moderate injuries. He has been charged with Driving Under the Influence. Additional charges may be pending.

Canyon Crest Drive was reopened to traffic at 2:30 p.m., December 8.

Any witnesses to this accident are asked to call Sgt. Don Taulli of the Riverside Police Traffic Division at (951) 826-5576.