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1 dead, 1 arrested after fiery rear-end crash in Palmdale

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The fatal collision occurred just before 4 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 27 on Avenue S at Sierra Highway in Palmdale. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)
The fatal collision occurred just before 4 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 27 on Avenue S at Sierra Highway in Palmdale. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)
After it was rear-ended the sport coupe burst into flames, killing the driving inside. (LUIS MEZA)
After it was rear-ended, the sport coupe burst into flames, killing the driving inside. (LUIS MEZA)

PALMDALE – A 23-year-old Lancaster man was arrested early Saturday morning after he rear-ended a vehicle, killing the driver inside.

Jeffrey Brooks was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, according to the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station jail.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the fiery crash, which occurred just before 4 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 on Avenue S at Sierra Highway, according to Detective Brent Bunch of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station.

Jeffrey Brooks, 23, of Lancaster was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. (LUIS MEZA)
Jeffrey Brooks, 23, of Lancaster was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. (LUIS MEZA)

Brooks was driving a Mitsubishi Lancer eastbound in the No. 2 lane on Avenue S when he crashed into the back of a sport coupe that was also eastbound in the No. 2. lane, Sheriff’s officials said.

Witnesses at the scene said the sport coupe was at the traffic signal at the Sierra Highway intersection when the speeding Lancer slammed into the back of the coupe, causing it to burst into flames. The driver inside the burning vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The victim's name has not yet been released but authorities said he was a Hispanic male. (LUIS MEZA)
The victim’s name has not yet been released but authorities said he was a Hispanic male. (LUIS MEZA)

The driver’s name has not yet been released pending next of kin notification, but authorities said the driver was a Hispanic male.

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UPDATED 10/2/14: The victim has been identified as 21-year-old Daniel Orellana Jr. of Palmdale, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

64 comments for "1 dead, 1 arrested after fiery rear-end crash in Palmdale"

  1. If Jeffery is already out..which I doubt…it is because the da and judge set a bail amount and someone paid it….my guess is it is a close friend on his behalf..

  2. i see everyone sayin he was drunk. but on another note, both cars seem to be little race cars. could it be a race gone bad also?

  3. He must be updating his fb I just looked at it and saw all the car pictures so it must be him unless I am mistaken it was last updated this Monday what a fen loser someone is dead and this idiot is updating fb pathetic

  4. How can they let this guy out after he was drunk and killed somebody? I saw his Facebook page with pictures of the car before…he doesn’t seem too upset about killing somebody!

  5. Why is the driver of the lancer already out of jail he just killed somebody???

  7. In this country when a 18 year Olds birthday hits this means now you are responsible for your own actions Not your parents,brother or any one

  8. In this country when a individual has his or her 18th birthday this makes you an adult. Therfore no body but you are responsible for your actions,not your parents your siblings, your friends or God. So it was nobody’s fault but Jeffery s he drank he drove and crashed and killed end of story.

    • Not true. Depends on who was the registered owner of the vehicle. If it wasn’t the driver then they are also held liable

      • Not True! His insurance will cover the cost in some respects but knowing most of us, he had minimum coverage to comply with the law. If his parents were the richest on the planet, they are not liable unless you can prove they had some knowledge he was going to do that or a heavy past history showing that this incident was foreseeable! Been there!

      • Liability for funds is a lot different than fault.

        In this case cullinan is fully correct about the driver’s decision to drink and drive thus causing the accident. Fully that driver’s fault.

        Now his decision killed a person, that is fully on him as well, however for purposes of a lawsuit the liability can be held by the drunk driver, the owner of the vehicle, who ever is paying for the insurance, the city/state if there were any road hazards that led to this (not likely at all), and believe it or not other drivers/witnesses in some cases.

  10. Damn thats [removed]] that poor baby really died smh I know one thing to his family it may seem like he suffered just to haunt the murderer but there is a merciful God and he wouldn’t let him actually feel the pain. God bless you.

  11. Very very sad…. especially as I understand that this is not the first DUI for this young man! It is always the drunk that survives…. how sad! I hope he thinks long and hard about this one!

  12. I am truly sorry for Daniels family. I know the driver of the lancer and I am shocked as to what happened. But for those of you to say he Never hit the brakes is hard to say considering you weren’t in the car..nobody but Jeff was. I feel incredibly bad for Daniels family and friends. This is something Jeff will have to live with now for the rest of his life knowing he took the life of a young man with many possible endeavors in the future. Very sad.

    • Your statement about “But for those of you to say he Never hit the brakes is hard to say considering you weren’t in the car..nobody but Jeff was.” is FALSE, its called INVESTIGATION. Nice try.

    • do you not realize that EVERYTHING you do in your vehicle is RECORDED? Not to mention the fact that IF he did hit the brakes, there would be SKIDMARKS…Wake the hell up!

    • Its odd that a remorseful young man would post a new profile pic on Facebook of him smirking…take a look before he removes it! Prayers for the victims family, Drunks that kill should face a mandatory minimum!!!

    • OK, so let’s say Jeff did hit the breaks. The result is still the same, one drunk alive and one innocent victim dead. Jeff should have put the breaks on his drinking and anyone who knew him might have tried helping. Now there is a sad Jeff in jail and a deceased Daniel waiting to be buried. Do you all recall the young lady who was killed while sleeping in her bead on Avenue R and 10th East? If you know you cannot drink safely, please seek help. Don’t drink and drive. Drunk drivers should not be let of easy for their crimes of driving while intoxicated. Absolutely NOT!

    • I was there and saw it all happen. He almost killed me and my kids too. HE NEVER HIT THE BRAKES!!!!!!!

  13. When will this new generation of kids realize, you may get away with drinking and driving many times, but it only takes once to ruin many lives. Now heres a 25 yr old with his entire future ahead of him! Now hes just gonna be another 32 yr old Parolee with about zero chance of becoming a productive member of society!

    What a waste!

    • How could you say this parolee as you called him can not become a productive member of society! I know a man that went down the wrong road with drugs and alcohol and now he is a well known pastor.

  14. My prayers go out to the family… This is very sad, Daniel is gone im pretty sure of it Josue. Theres videos of it all over Facebook…. The car was in flames. And again ill pray for his family ( Daniels that is)… So sorry for your loss..

  15. Please help. Do not be a viewer, be a participant and help the people involved. I hate seeing accidents, and four people jump out of their cars… not to help, but to record! Call 911, get the people out of burning cars, be a good Samaritan.

    • As far as not helping is a lie me and my friend arrived on the scene I called 911 just mere seconds after it happened in front of us we also ran towards the car to try and help but it was too fast the car started to burst into flames even more, oh and by the way it was only 3 people there not 4 since u know everything, so please state the truth instead of assuming and posting lies and there’s a lot more to the story that I witness but you will never get the satisfaction of knowing, have a blessed day.

    • my prayers go out to the families. And that is correct maybe if some people helped he could of been saved, but only god knows. and my prayers go out to the firemen that have to see this horrified crash and put there lives in danger for all of us.

      • Dude your foolish didn’t u just read that my friend and I was there and tried all of us tried but the car kept blowing up hello speak what u know instead of what you heard “I” had to watch everything and its still effects me so please stop it.

  17. Why is it that the drunk always walks away, manslaughter that’s BS should be a murder charge. Please don’t explain the law as I don’t care.

    Truly a loss for Daniel’s family

    • This is so sad..people will never learn..any chance you can tell us daniels last name? i don’t mean to be nosey, I would just like to add the whole family to my prayers tonight.

  18. I was there too maybe a minute after it happened and I felt so helpless not being able to help him I still can’t believe what happened
    I thought everyone had gotten out safe I was very confused when i pulled over and asked if everyone was okay and the people said no there’s someone inside then I see the guy that came out was Jeffrey I was like the burning one and they said yes ! The car started blowing up again they said it was the second time the police were bearly arriving at the scene

    • No u were there long after it had happened if you are the one who pulled up with the young man in a sliver car stop it u are confused we told u what was going on.

  19. I can’t believe yet another possible senseless death by a drunk driver….my sincere condolences to the family of the young man killed…I can’t even begin to imagine your pain. As for the driver possibly under the influence of alcohol…I hope they lock you up and throw away the key…it sounds harsh…but unfortunately I know to well it won’t happen from my own personal experience with someone like you…When will law enforcement and our Courts get SERIOUSLY tough on drinking and driving!?

  20. My condolence to the family I work with Daniel he was a bright kid he was supposed to be relieving me tonight.

  22. I’m concerned I may know this person can someone who knows please contact me my friend isn’t replying to me on Facebook :( I’m worried

      • Malice Aforethought can be either implied or express… Express would be that the murder was intentional.

        The defendant acted with implied malice if: 1. (he/she) intentionally committed an act; 2. The natural consequences of the act were dangerous to human life; 3. At the time (he/she) acted, (he/she) knew (his/her) act was dangerous to human life; AND 4. (he/she) deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human life.

        Implied malice is where DUI deaths come into play. If it is the person’s first DUI offense, then it would be manslaughter. If it is not their first, then they go with second degree murder because in a court of law, at conclusion of their first conviction of DUI, they have to acknowledge on the record that they understand DUIs can be lethal and if they kill anyone as a result of driving intoxicated they will be charged with murder.

    • I think your comment is disgusting! If you knew anything about the law you would know its not because he is white.

  24. I saw it all happen . I am still shaking.I was across the street in the slow lane..God bless all those involved…

    • Cullinan, he was a dear family friend. His parents are devastated. They would like to know how it happened. They still can’t believe their son is gone. Please message me we would love to talk to you.

      • I was sitting in the west bound slow lane waiting on the red light..the Hispanic man was also waiting….then out of the corner of my eye ..I see Jeffery hauling…never even applied the breaks….both cars burst it to flames …I said Oh my God Oh My God…I was shaking there was fire in the street I looked to my left and saw the car put my left window fully engulfed…could jot tell if any one was there…I still see the flames every time I close my eyes…My 15 year old yelled at me mom mom move call 911 so I did..I apologize d for leaving but I was on my way back from flagstaff and still needed to drive home t Jeffery s car was also on fire. The Hispanic man’s car ended up about 8 ft from the left hand side of my car

        • Cullinan thank you for answering back. His name was Daniel and he was 19 years old. He was coming home from work. He was a good kid with a bright future ahead of him. His dad would love talk to you if you are up to it. We understand its hard for you. His mom just wants to talk to know that her son did not suffer. Please email me at ptuchan@yahoo.com

      • I was waiting at the light and Daniel was right across from me. I was west bound he was east bound. We were the only two cars on the road. Out of no where I saw Jeffreys car flying towards Daniel. In an instany ..smack and the car burst into flames. I had to move to my right as Daniles car was sliding toward mine. I can’t find words to explain my state of mind. My kids were sleeping in my car and I’m expecting as well. My heart goes out to his gamil family

  25. Josue..just hope is not one of your family members “very rude”!!! Let’s all valley residence learn NOT TO DRINK AND DRIVE..OUR FAMILIES ARE HOME WAITING FOR US….