CAMP PENDLETON (CNS) - Authorities Thursday released the names of the three Camp Pendleton-based Marines killed in a Dana Point car crash that investigators say was primarily caused by alcohol and unsafe speed.
The Marines killed in Tuesday's pre-dawn crash were identified as Sgt. Jeremiah Callahan, 23, of Chadron, Neb.; Cpl. Christopher Arzola, 21, of Westfield, Mass.; and Cpl. Jason Chleborad, 22, of Rapid City, S.D. All three were data network specialists who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2008.
The car's driver remained hospitalized in serious condition at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, according to Camp Pendleton officials. Authorities have not released the lone survivor's name.
The Marines were in a Dodge Stratus that crashed into a tree at Golden Lantern Street just past Terra Vista at 2:05 a.m. Tuesday. It took firefighters about 20 minutes to cut through the wreckage to get to the servicemen, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone.
The two men in the back seat were declared dead at the scene, and the driver and another man in the front passenger seat were taken to Mission Hospital, where the passenger was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The Stratus was northbound on Golden Lantern at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control of the car, which hit a curb before slamming into a tree just past Terra Vista, according to Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The rain-slick roadway was a lesser contributing factor to the crash, Amormino said.
Callahan earned the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and NATO ISAF Afghanistan Medal.
Arzola held the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Chleborad earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and NATO ISAF Afghanistan Medal.
