8-year-old killed in head-on crash in Riverside; three other siblings hospitalized

A Riverside family has been torn apart after a tragic head-on collision sent four siblings to the hospital and killed the youngest brother. 

The crash happened around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday on Arlington Avenue when a 22-year-old driver veered onto the wrong side of the road, according to the Riverside Police Department. Investigators said he then struck a gray sedan carrying the four siblings. Police believe they may have been on their way to school. The violent collision mangled both cars and sent an engine block flying onto the road. 

All of the siblings were sent to the hospital where the youngest, an 8-year-old boy, died. The boy's 25-year-old sister, who was driving at the time, remains in serious condition. The two other siblings, a 16-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, are in critical condition. 

The 22-year-old driver remains at the hospital in a serious condition. 

Residents in the area said there have been at least three collisions at the curve on Arlington Avenue in the past month. 

"I don't know why someone would be speeding like that in the first place, especially knowing there's an elementary school straight up ahead," said witness Santiago Fernandez. 

Another resident said one of the collisions involved a car crashing into her home, narrowly missing her child and husband. She said she can't sleep in her bedroom since the incident. She said she can hear cars speeding by her home at night. 

"It's scary," she said. "I can't go to sleep at night. It's uncomfortable not knowing if another car will come plow into the house."

Investigators have yet to determine if speed was a factor in the crash.

"It's still too early to determine if drugs or alcohol were a factor as well," said Officer Ryan Railsback.