Man’s body lands on rooftop of Monterey Park home following deadly crash; 3 dead

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - Three people were killed, and a woman along with a 7-year-old girl, were recovering at the hospital, following a horrific crash in a Monterey Park neighborhood overnight. All five crash victims were in the same vehicle. 

The crash was reported in a residential area near the intersection of Graves and Garfield avenues just before 1 a.m. Friday. 

While authorities are still trying to figure out what happened, traffic investigators believe the SUV was traveling too fast while going uphill and when the vehicle began going downhill, the car allegedly went airborne. It then reportedly slammed into a tree, knocking it down. The vehicle then crashed into two other cars parked in a driveway, which caused the SUV to flip on its side. 

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they discovered two people were trapped inside the SUV. After they were freed from the vehicle, they were declared dead. 

Two others, a woman and a girl, survived. 

Investigators initially believed there were four victims. However, the woman who survived told firefighters that there was a fifth person inside the car. 

Following a search, the fifth victim was found on the roof of a home near the crash site. They too also died at the scene. 

Friends tell FOX 11 that the woman is the mother of the 7-year-old. Both are in the hospital. Those killed in the crash were the woman's brother, a cousin and a family friend.

The people who live in the home were all okay. Felix Lam said he lives there with his sister, mom and dad. 

Lam said he heard a loud at night and immediately woke up. 

"Everyone in my household was very shook. It was just my birthday yesterday and I don't know, I felt like I was blessed," Lam said. 

The Monterey Park Police told FOX 11 that the driver was impaired at the time of the crash, and they were taken into custody on suspicion of DUI.