DANA POINT, Calif. (WGGB) — The Marine Corps has announced that a Westfield Marine is among those dead after an Tuesday car accident in California.
Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola, 21, of Westfield was killed Tuesday after the Dodge Stratus he was in collided with a tree in Dana Point, Calif.
According to our affiliate KABC-TV, Arzola was in a 2005 Dodge Stratus when it lost control around 2:00 a.m. and crashed into a palm tree. Four people were in the car at the time, and the driver was the lone survivor.
“We believe the driver lost control of the vehicle, striking the curb and then striking the tree,” Orange County Sherriff’s Department spokesperson Jim Amormino told the station.
KABC-TV reports that all of the people in the car were active duty at Camp Pendleton. The Corps says that Arzola was assigned as a data specialist with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at the base.
The other Marines killed have been identified as 23-year-old Sergeant Jeremiah Callahan of Nebraska, and 22-year-old Corporal Jason Chleborad of South Dakota.
The accident remains under investigation, but police believe that speed was a factor. “At this stage of the investigation it appears that unsafe speed is the primary cause,” Amormino told KABC.
Rest easy devil dog
God Bless you Christopher, may the lord give your mom peace in this terrible time. I remember your sweet face and your shyness when you use to come to my home. again chris may the lord have you in his arms and may you now be your childs angel.