Johnston County teens injured in single-vehicle crash

According to investigators, the four-door Acura driven by Fermin Rodriguez Jr., 16, of Zebulon, was traveling at 80 mph in a 55-mph zone when Rodriguez entered a curve about a half-mile south of N.C. Highway 42 and lost control of the car.

According to Lt. Jeff Gordon with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the car traveled onto the right shoulder and then into a field, where it rolled over one time. The car then struck a utility pole, which resulted in a passenger in the middle back seat to be ejected from the car.

Daphne Bleser, who lives nearby, said the power went out in her home after the car struck the utility pole.

"All of a sudden, there's a messed up car," Bleser said. "It was demolished. It wasn't pretty."

The passenger who was thrown from the car, Ana Gonzalez, 16, of Selma, was transported to WakeMed in Raleigh, where she was listed in critical condition.

According to investigators, none of the three backseat passengers was wearing seatbelts.

Rodriguez and the other three passengers – Jovanny Vargas, 16, of Selma, Sergio Garcia, 15, of Zebulon, and Nora Garcia Zuniga, 16, of Zebulon – were treated at WakeMed for non-life-threatening injuries.

All five occupants in the vehicle are students at Corinth Holders High School, located just outside of Wendell.

Charges are pending in connection with the collision, said investigators.