16-Year-Old Identified as Driver Who Veered Off Malibu Road, Falling 30 Feet to His Death

"He put a light to the room every time he walked in," Sean Parrow said of his late schoolmate, Hunter Langley

NEED TO KNOW

• Hunter Langley, a 16-year-old student at Sierra Canyon School, was identified as the victim of a fatal crash in Malibu, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 4
• Langley was driving a Tesla Model S when it veered off a highway and fell 30 feet
• “My deepest sympathies are with the family as they navigate an unimaginable loss,” Sierra Canyon Head of School Jim Skrumbis wrote

The teeange driver who died after veering off a road in Malibu, Calif., has been identified.

Hunter Langley died at the scene on Wednesday, Feb. 4, according to ABC 7, citing the Los Angeles Medical Examiner. He was 16 years old.

Langley was a student at Sierra Canyon School, which also confirmed the loss.

"It is with a very heavy heart that I share the tragic news that a student of our Upper Campus community died earlier this morning in a car accident," Sierra Canyon Head of School Jim Skrumbis said in a message to students, families, and staff, according to Sports Illustrated.

“My deepest sympathies are with the family as they navigate an unimaginable loss, and I know our entire community will join me in holding them in our thoughts and prayers,” the statement continued.

“The loss of a young life can be especially challenging for adolescents,” Skrumbis said per KTLA. “In moments like this, our strength as a community is found in our empathy, our presence, and the ways we come together to care for one another."

The tragic accident occurred shortly before 7:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5. A 2018 Tesla Model S suddenly made a sharp turn on Malibu Canyon Road, near Pepperdine University, and veered off the highway.

The car fell roughly 30 feet down a roadside, and the driver was trapped inside. "The vehicle went airborne and collided head-on with a dirt ravine along the mountainside east of Malibu Canyon Road," the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said, PEOPLE previously reported.

The CHP, Tow trucks, sheriff’s deputies, the county medical examiner and the Los Angeles County firefighters reported to the scene. The responding firefighters declared the driver sustained "major injuries” and pronounced him deceased at about 7:50 a.m.

Officials have revealed the cause of the crash. The CHP's West Valley office is investigating the crash. 

One Sierra Canyon student, Marquis Johnson, said Langley “was a great guy, athletic, very smart, intelligent, and he just cared about you,” according to NBC 4.

“I’ve barely known him for about six months, but honestly, we felt like we were brothers,” Johnson said. “I was crying for at least 20 minutes. It was just horrible.”

Another student, Sean Parrow, told ABC 7 that Langley's death is "very devastating."

"He was a great kid … I feel so sorry for his parents. Condolences to them, of course," Parrow said. "He was always the nicest person, he put a light to the room every time he walked in."

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PEOPLE reached out to Sierra Canyon School for comment.

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