2 die in San Jose stolen car crash; Teen driver arrested for vehicular manslaughter

SAN JOSE -- Two teenagers were killed and a third arrested for vehicular manslaughter early Friday after the stolen Hyundai Sedan they were in careened out of control at high speed, slammed into a light pole and burst into flames.

San Jose police said that approximately 4:20 a.m. officers responded to the area of Cottle Road and Blossom Hill Road to investigate a solo vehicle traffic collision. 

The preliminary investigation has revealed that a 2018 Hyundai Sedan, reported stolen to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department on January 26, was traveling northbound on Cottle Road at a high rate of speed. Inside the vehicle were three teens.

For some reason the vehicle left the roadway and collided with a light pole on the southeast corner of the on-ramp to Blossom Hill Road. The collision caused the vehicle to immediately burst into flames.

The male driver suffered non-life threatening injuries. A female passenger was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased. An additional male passenger was declared deceased at the scene.

The juvenile male driver was arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall for driving a stolen vehicle and two counts of vehicular manslaughter.

It was the first fatal collision and the first two traffic fatalities of 2023.

The identity of the victims will be released by the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office after confirming their identities and notifying next of kin.

Anyone with information on this investigation is urged to contact Detective Templeman #3556 of the San José Police Department's Traffic Investigations Unit at 3556@sanjoseca.gov or 408-277-4654.