Teen dies in car crash into Oakland funeral home

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU and wires) – Police are investigating the cause of a deadly single-car crash into a funeral home Monday night that left a teenage passenger in the vehicle dead.

Investigators said a blue sedan was speeding south on Telegraph Avenue, when it jumped the curb, hit a tree and crashed into the front of Fouche’s Hudson funeral home on 37th street.

The crash happened just before 10 p.m. Monday evening, not far from the California Highway Patrol’s Oakland office.  In fact, CHP officers were the first to respond to the scene.

Relatives identified the 17-year-old victim who died at the scene as Deshawn Rabon. They said he would have been a senior at McClymonds High school in Oakland in the fall.

Police were investigating whether a seat belt was being worn by the passenger who died in the collision.

Witnesses and police tell KTVU that the driver and other two passengers in the car all ran off after the crash.

Oakland Police are now working to find the other people in the car at the time of the crash. Authorities asked that any witnesses to the crash who might have taken cell phone video or photos get in touch to help police find the driver and the other passengers, all of who could be facing charges.

A woman walking nearby was hit either by the vehicle or flying debris as the car crashed and was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.

Telegraph Avenue remained closed between 36th and 40th streets into the morning as OPD’s major accident investigation team collected evidence at the scene.

Oakland police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering a $10,000 reward for an arrest in the case. Anyone with information has been asked to call the department's traffic investigation unit at (510) 777-8570.