NORFOLK -- Police say the driver of a car that crashed early Wednesday, killing three of his five passengers, is charged with DUI and could face other charges.
They say Craig A. Watson, 30, of Norfolk was speeding on E. Indian River Road around 3:20 a.m. when his vehicle struck a light pole, smashed through a guardrail and hit a tree before ending up on the front stoop of a home.
Paris Y. Shorter, 18, of Va. Beach and Marquita S. Walker, 19, of Hampton, were pinned in the vehicle and died at the scene; Karnell W. Faulkner, 29, of Chesapeake died at the hospital.
Investigators say alcohol and speed were factors in the crash.
Police haven't released the names or ages of the other two passengers, a man and woman.
Police also haven't said how the six knew each other.
However, Shorter's father said his daughter and Ms. Walker were friends. He says the woman who survived the crash, also a friend, was able to tell him today they met the men on the boardwalk at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
He says his daughter, who'd recently turned 18, had gotten her GED and was planning to attend Wards Corner Beauty Academy.
In an e-mail to 13News, he said they had a lot of fun together and that his world will never be the same.
Watson was listed in good condition Thursday morning at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Because he's in the hospital, no court hearings have been set, said Commonwealth's Attorney spokeswoman Amanda Howie.
That office will review investigators' reports to see if additional charges are warranted.
No one in the home was hurt.
Four teens died in a fiery 2001 crash at the same location. Police said the teens in a stolen SUV were going more than 80 MPH trying to outrun officers.
The SUV crashed into the same tree at the edge of the property on Indian River Road and Waltham Avenue.
This morning’s crash uprooted that tree and also destroyed a guardrail installed in 2002 after that crash.
The City of Norfolk has replaced the stop sign and street sign damaged in the crash. No decision has been made yet about replacing the guardrail.
