Two Liberty High Teenagers Killed in Brentwood Crash

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – Two Liberty High School students died and two others were injured early Sunday when two vehicles collided on Deer Valley Road near Balfour Road. The crash happened in unincorporated Contra Costa County between Antioch and Brentwood. 

Antioch police said dispatchers received a report of the crash at 12:11 a.m. Sunday. Officers arrived about 10 minutes later and found a silver Infiniti sedan and a BMW involved in the wreck, according to a police statement. 

Three people were riding in the Infiniti. Two of them died at the scene. The third was taken to a hospital with injuries described as moderate and non-life-threatening. The BMW’s driver was also hurt and taken for treatment. 

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said four patients were found at the scene and that two needed to be extricated from their vehicles. 

Antioch police said the two students who died were 17-year-old boys from Discovery Bay. Liberty High School confirmed that three of the four people in the crash were current students and athletes at the school. The injured Infiniti passenger was also a Liberty student-athlete, the school said. 

Liberty Principal Efa Huckaby wrote to parents and staff Sunday afternoon. “With deep sadness, we share that two Liberty High School students passed away and another student was injured in a tragic car accident Saturday night,” she said. “Our hearts are with their families, friends, classmates, teammates, and everyone affected by this tragedy.” 

Huckaby said counselors and support staff would be on campus Monday to help grieving students. 

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Authorities said preliminary information indicates the Infiniti may have been reversing in the roadway before the collision. 

Early reports suggested the BMW might have been involved in a police pursuit at the time of the crash. The California Highway Patrol said no pursuit was underway. Antioch police said the BMW had been sought days earlier in a pursuit involving a different law enforcement agency. 

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam or surveillance footage is asked to contact Antioch police. 

Teen Driver Risk on California Roads 

The California Office of Traffic Safety reported that teen drivers involved in fatal crashes statewide dropped about 10% between 2022 and 2023, from 476 to 428. 

The fatal crash rate for drivers aged 16 to 19 is roughly three times higher at night than for adults, per mile driven, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half of teen crash deaths nationally occur between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

Rural two-lane roads like Deer Valley Road add to that risk. Limited lighting and narrow shoulders leave little margin for error when a vehicle unexpectedly slows, stops, or reverses in the roadway. 

California Liability Questions in the Crash 

California drivers owe a duty of reasonable care to everyone else on the road under Civil Code § 1714. Backing a vehicle carries its own specific statutory duty. Vehicle Code § 22106 prohibits backing onto a highway until it can be done with reasonable safety. 

If investigators confirm the Infiniti was reversing on Deer Valley Road, that detail could shape any civil liability determination. A violation of a safety statute like § 22106 can support a finding of negligence per se under Evidence Code § 669. 

Because the crash resulted in two deaths, California law allows the victims’ families to pursue wrongful death claims under Code of Civil Procedure §§ 377.60-377.61. Families may also bring a survival action under § 377.30 for damages the victims could have claimed had they survived.