Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect the proper location of the crash.

A grieving family is outraged that a now 19-year-old man who was behind the wheel of a car involved in a violent crash that killed five teenagers nearly three years ago may serve only nine months in a detention facility.

The June 2023 crash happened in the early morning hours on the 710 Freeway at the 91 Freeway connector in Long Beach.

Dashcam video captured the speeding car carrying six people, including the driver and two 15-year-olds, Ariahh Slemaker and George Dobbs. The vehicle slammed into a barrier, flipped and burst into flames.

Investigators with the California Highway Patrol said some of the victims were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected on impact.

Initial reports indicated that everyone in the car had died, but investigators later confirmed that the then 16-year-old driver survived.

Parents of the victims say the deadly joyride was fueled by excessive speed, alcohol and recklessness. Newly obtained footage from some of the teens’ cellphones appears to support those claims.

As the three-year anniversary of the crash approaches, parents say their grief is compounded by the possibility that the driver could face minimal punishment.

“I feel like justice needs to be served for his reckless behavior,” said Amanda Lopez, mother of 15-year-old Ariahh Slemaker.

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Lopez and several other parents have been attending court proceedings involving the driver. They said they have been told that, under current law, the 19-year-old — whose name has not been released because he was a juvenile at the time — cannot be charged as an adult.

His sentence, they said, could be as short as nine months in a state-run boot camp-style facility.

“I’m shocked,” Lopez said. “Do I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison? No, but I think some consequences need to be served. With his recklessness and his negligence, he should be charged as an adult.”

KTLA has reached out to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for comment and is awaiting a response.

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