Five Southern California high school students who died in a fiery car wreck on their way to the beach included a pair of sisters and best friends who bonded over their immigrant experiences, friends said Tuesday. 
 
 Skid marks show the path of an Infiniti that left the roadway Monday, in Newport Beach, Calif.,Tuesday, May 28, 2013, killing five. Coroner officials were still working to positively identify all five... (Associated Press) 
 
 Cars drive past the scene of a Monday fiery car crash that killed five, Tuesday, May 28, 2013 in Newport Beach, Calif. Coroner officials were still working to positively identify all five victims who... (Associated Press) 
 
 Cars drive past the scene of a Monday fiery car crash that killed five, Tuesday, May 28, 2013 in Newport Beach, Calif. Coroner officials were still working to positively identify all five victims who... (Associated Press) 
 
 The victims _ three girls and two boys _ were students at two high schools in the Irvine Unified School District, said Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. 
 
 "There are simply no words to convey the sorrow felt by our students and staff, nor are there sufficient answers to explain the loss of five vibrant teenagers from our schools and this community," Irvine Unified School District Superintendent Terry Walker said in a statement. 
 
 The driver was identified as 17-year-old Abdulrahman Alyahyan, a senior at University High School. 
 
 The passengers included 17-year-old Robin Cabrera, a senior at Irvine High School, and her 16-year-old sister Aurora, a sophomore at the same school. 
 
 Also killed in the Monday crash were Cecilia Zamora and Nozad Al Hamawendi, both 17-year-old juniors at Irvine High School. 
 
 Friends who gathered Tuesday outside Irvine High said the five were headed to the beach for a fun Memorial Day when the accident happened. 
 
 The Infiniti sedan veered off a road about 5:20 p.m. and hit a tree, said Kathy Lowe, Newport Beach police spokeswoman. The impact split the car and it caught fire, she said. 
 
 The tree the car hit was stripped of its bark on Tuesday and bore huge gouge marks along the trunk. 
 
 "It was a horrific accident," Lowe said, adding that investigators were on scene for nearly 12 hours overnight. 
 
 Speed was believed to be a factor in the wreck, she said. 
 
 The posted speed limit on Jamboree Road, a major, six-lane street in south Orange County, is 55 mph. Lowe declined to say how fast the Infiniti was going, citing the ongoing investigation. 
 
 Four of the teens were thrown from the car and died immediately. The other was declared dead at a hospital. 
 
 No other vehicles were involved in the crash. 
 
 The coroner had to use fingerprints to identify two of the bodies in what officials were calling one of the worst car accidents in Newport Beach in recent memory. 
 
 There were no classes at the high schools on Tuesday because of a teacher development day, but students gathered at Irvine High late in the afternoon to console each other and remember their friends. 
 
 The Cabrera sisters were their parents' only two children and were both accomplished dancers in the school's dance program, friends said. They had performed in a three-day recital over Memorial Day weekend, said Brie Martinez, 15. 
 
 "(Aurora Cabrera) was kind of nervous for her dance but I heard she did really good," said Martinez, as she began to cry. 
 
 "I saw something about the crash on the news last night, but I never would have guessed it was them," she added. 
 
 Zamora was also in the dance program and performed over the weekend, said her friend, Paloma Douglas, a junior at the school. 
 
 Douglas last saw Zamora on Friday afternoon, when the two attended the same history class _ the last course of their day. 
 
 "She was sitting next to me, so it's going to be tough seeing that empty seat," said Douglas. 
 
 Alyahyan, the driver, was obsessed with his car and spent hours working on it and driving it around with his best friend, Al Hamawendi, said Zach Darwish, an 18-year-old senior at University High who was also close friends with both boys. 
 
 "Abdul loved cars. He took care of his car as if it was a human being," said Ibrahim Razzak, a junior. 
 
 The two were inseparable and were part of a larger group of about 10 close friends who were either first- or second-generation immigrants from various Middle Eastern countries, Darwish said. The teens all spoke Arabic together when they hung out, which was constantly, he said. 
 
 Alyahyan came to the Irvine from Saudi Arabia about three years ago, said Mohamad Abdul Razzak, a 16-year-old junior and close friend who also arrived in the U.S. last year from Lebanon. 
 
 He played excellent soccer, but wasn't on the school team, and planned to attend community college next fall. 
 
 Al Hamawendi came to Irvine two years ago with his family from Iraq, Abdul Razzak said. 
 
 He was obsessed with weight-lifting, worked out every day and had been on the wrestling team. 
 
 "We're all like one big group of friends. We all love each other, we're all like brothers. It seems like the circle has just broken apart," Darwish said. 
 
 "I still can't believe this actually happened to good friends of mine," he said. "It's the worst news you can possibly get." 
 
 _____ 
 
 Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gflaccus ||||| In a city with a grim history of high-profile car wrecks, even veteran police and firefighters seemed stunned by the death toll on Jamboree Road. 
 
 They called the Memorial Day wreck in Newport Beach the single worst solo-car crash in memory. They groped, and failed, to come up with a worse one. 
 
 The violent collision, just down the road from Fashion Island and the Newport Beach police station, killed five teenagers from neighboring Irvine, scattering debris and bodies across the pavement. 
 
 Police say the 17-year-old driver, Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan, a senior at high-achieving University High School, was speeding south in an Infiniti on Jamboree Road near Island Lagoon Drive when the car swerved out of control and struck a tree, the violence shearing it in two. What was left caught fire. 
 
 Abdulrahman and all his passengers were killed. Among them were two sisters who attended Irvine High School — Robin A. Cabrera, 17, a 12th-grader, and Aurora C. Cabrera, 16, a 10th-grader. Also killed were Nozad Al Hamawendi, 17, and Cecilia D. Zamora, 17, both 11th-graders at Irvine High School. 
 
 The car was so fragmented that firefighters initially believed two vehicles had been involved. 
 
 One of the car's occupants was thrown partway out of the car, while the four others were hurled out completely, police said. Some of the victims' injuries were so devastating that the coroner's office had to rely on fingerprints to make identifications. 
 
 Newport Beach police said Abdulrahman had been speeding on a downhill stretch of road with a posted 55 mph speed limit. The road is a popular bypass between the 405 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway. 
 
 "There are simply no words to convey the sorrow felt by our students and staff, nor are there answers sufficient to explain why five vibrant teenagers who were with us on Friday are gone today," Irvine Unified School District Supt. Terry Walker said Tuesday. 
 
 Walker said counselors will be sent to Irvine and University High Schools to help students deal with the situation. Graduation ceremonies are approaching at both campuses. 
 
 On Tuesday, friends and schoolmates of the victims visited the scene of the crash. 
 
 "You never saw that guy frown once," Aram Yaco, 17, said of Nozad. 
 
 Kelly Dunkle, 17, added that Nozad would compliment complete strangers: "He would just go out and tell you how good you are." 
 
 Friends described Cecilia as "bubbly" and "one of the happiest people you'll ever meet." As Kelly recalled, "It was funny when she tried to be mean, because she couldn't." 
 
 Aram said the crash should serve as a reality check. "I think people should take it as a wake-up call," Aram said. 
 
 Ida Lodriguito, step-grandmother to the Cabrera sisters, recalled them as "very loving and caring girls." She said they were "raised in a nurturing atmosphere," adding that they had died "so close to becoming adults." 
 
 The girls' uncle, Bernard Cabrera, said they appeared shy at first and had big hearts. 
 
 "Their dad could never say no to them," he said. "How could you — they were always so sweet." 
 
 Robin was known as an accomplished dancer with a captivating singing voice. Her younger sister Aurora went by Christine, or Tintin, after the comic book character. 
 
 On Robin's Facebook page, friends and classmates left emotional goodbyes. One remembered her from science camp, others from dance and choir. 
 
 "I'll always remember your sweet little voice everyday and all the little jokes we had," one post said. "I know you're an amazing dancer and now you're a dancer in heaven." 
 
 According to Orange County court records, an Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan was cited by the Irvine Police Department last month for improperly modifying a car's exhaust system and violating his provisional driver's license provisions. 
 
 Police would not confirm whether it was the same person who was driving the Infiniti that crashed. 
 
 Newport Beach, one of Southern California's wealthiest cities, has a history of headline-seizing car wrecks linked to speeding. 
 
 In 2009, less than a mile from the site of Monday's crash, the co-founder of the mixed martial arts apparel company TapouT was killed when his red Ferarri was struck by a Porsche, veered into a light pole and split in two. Police later estimated that the Porsche was traveling at 100 mph. 
 
 In 2011, three people were killed in a speed-related crash on West Coast Highway, including a former track star from Corona del Mar High School. 
 
 And in 1997, a speeding Chevrolet Blazer crammed with 10 Newport Harbor High School students struck a median and overturned, killing the son of an Orange County prosecutor, leaving one girl in a coma and injuring others. 
 
 christopher.goffard@latimes.com 
 
 lauren.williams@latimes.com 
 
 anh.do@latimes.com 
 
 Times staff writers Jill Cowan and Joseph Serna contributed to this report.
– A fiery car wreck on Memorial Day has left five California teens, including two sisters, dead and the city of Newport Beach in shock over what authorities say is the worst solo crash in memory, reports the LA Times. Police say a 17-year-old student was speeding when he swerved off the road, hitting a tree. The car split into two and burst into flames, scattering bodies across the pavement. "When we arrived, we found what we thought were two vehicles," says a fire captain who responded. "One was on fire." Several bodies had to be identified through fingerprints. "There are simply no words to convey the sorrow felt by our students and staff, nor are there answers sufficient to explain why five vibrant teenagers who were with us on Friday are gone today," says the local school district superintendent. A schoolmate of driver Abdulrahman M. Alyahyan said he "loved cars. He took care of his car as if it was a human being," the AP reports. The Times adds that someone of the same name was cited last month for improperly modifying a car exhaust system and violating his provisional driver's license, but police would not confirm if it was the same person.