Three teenagers were killed in a fiery crash along Hedgcoxe Road in Plano early Monday morning, police say.
Plano police said a driver was headed eastbound on Hedgcoxe Road at about 3:40 a.m. when the vehicle left the roadway and hit at least two trees before catching fire.
Plano Fire-Rescue arrived at the crash scene moments later to find a 2019 BMW sedan that had split apart and caught fire after striking at least one tree.
The three people riding in the car were all pronounced dead at the scene. On Monday afternoon, police identified the victims as 18-year-old Yuxuan Wang, the driver, 16-year-old Yuchen Jin, the front passenger, and 18-year-old Jin Chen, the rear passenger.
All three of the victims were from Plano, police said.
A friend, 18-year-old Mason Wang, said the victims' families immigrated from China several years ago.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"It's so sad right now," he said as he visited the crash scene. "It's hard to know what to say."
Plano Independent School District issued the following statement Monday.
"Our Plano ISD family joins with Plano Senior High and Plano West Senior High in mourning the lives lost over the weekend, including two currently enrolled students and a former student. We extend our sincere condolences to the students’ families, and to our students and staff members affected by this tragedy. Additional counselors and other administrative staff will be onsite at the campuses and will make themselves available for as long as they are needed to support students and staff during this difficult time."
Though the investigation is ongoing, investigators at the scene said they believe excessive speed was a factor in the crash.
NBC 5 has learned between Jan. 1, 2015 and Feb. 1, 2020 there were 264 reported crashes along Hedgecoxe Road. Of those, 59 involved a possible injury and none were fatal. Eight of the crashes involved intoxicated drivers. The last fatality crashes on Hedgecoxe Road were in 2011 an 2013, the latter involved alcohol and speeding.
NBC 5's Scott Gordon contributed to this report.
