Teen Fights For Recovery After Deadly Santiago Canyon Crash

GARDEN GROVE, CA — Three Orange County teenagers continue to fight for their lives after a fatal single-car crash on Santiago Canyon Road over the weekend.

Two teenagers perished when the car they were inside slammed into an oak tree: driver Joshua Morales of Santa Ana, 19, and front seat passenger Coleton Mondy, 18, a Garden Grove resident.

The family of 18-year-old Daniel Clark, a rear passenger in the collision, says he is lucky to be alive. Still, his recovery will be "a long road," his uncle reported said on a GoFundMe fundraising page.

What began as a terrifying ordeal in the ICU has grown into a watchful wait, they say. Daniel was moved from the ICU onto the hospital floor Wednesday.

Clark, a senior and varsity football player, sustained a brain injury in the crash, which will be the hardest thing for him to overcome, according to his doctors. He suffered broken bones in his face, shoulder and arm as well as damage to his lung and his brain, according to reports.

The family has had a few conversations with Clark and expressed that he "doesn't realize what has happened" yet.

The Crash.

At just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday, the Mazda Protege, heading northbound, lost control and skidded off Santiago Canyon Road into a tree, according to CHP reports.

Jaws of life were used to free all the victims from the wreckage, according to Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Craig Covey.

Garden Grove resident Luis Hernandez, 19, and Garden Grove resident Unique Valdez, 18, also sustained major injuries in the crash, according to the California Highway Patrol. Valdez was a softball player from Bolsa Grande, the Orange County Register reported.

Recovery. Not Just Survival.

The family of survivor Daniel Clark reported on Wednesday that he was released from the ICU, but they are raising funds "for his recovery rather than just his survival," his uncle and family spokesperson wrote on GofundMe.

"He's the lucky one," his mother told KTLA5. "We're the lucky ones."

According to that report, the families of the victims are calling for better lights and signs on that dark stretch of road where the collision took place.

GoFundMe pages have been established for three of the victims including Mondy, Morales, and Clark.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to the CHP.