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Driver charged with reckless driving, racing in crash that killed 5 teens in Gwinnett County

Wreck kills 5 in Gwinnett County

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County police have charged a driver weeks after a crash killed five teenagers on Labor Day in Gwinnett County.

It’s been confirmed 20-year-old Emanuel Esfahani was booked into jail on Tuesday night.

The crash happened Labor Day morning on the Ga. 316 onramp to Interstate 85. Investigators said a car and Toyota Tacoma collided. The impact caused the truck to flip over and plunge over the flyover’s concrete barrier and land on the onramp to I-85 below.

Hung Nguyen, 18; Katy Gaitan, 17; Ashley Gaitan, 16; Coral Lorenzo, 17; and Abner Santana, 19, were all killed in the crash. Three of the teens attended Lakeside High School in DeKalb County.

Esfahani was the driver of the car that collided with the Tacoma, according to investigators. Police said he wasn’t hurt in the initial wreck, but tried to get to a safe location and jumped over the concrete barrier on the flyover, falling about 25 feet and landing in a creek.

He sustained multiple broken bones in the fall, according to the vehicle crash report.

Esfahani is facing multiple charges including five felony counts of homicide by vehicle in the first degree, reckless driving, racing on highways, speeding, failure to maintain lane and seat belt violations.

Police did not say how fast Esfahani is accused of driving.