Galveston, TX : Two Crosby residents killed in a car accident near Seawall on Sunday, February 15, 2015

A young couple celebrating Mardi Gras in Galveston died in a early morning crash Sunday despite efforts by witnesses and police to pull them from their car before it burst into flames.

Witnesses told police that a PT Cruiser driven by 19-year-old Kendal Reed drifted across the opposite lanes of traffic and slammed into a concrete pole in the 4600 block of Seawall Boulevard about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Police arrived within moments of the accident, as bystanders pulled Reed's girlfriend from the passenger side of the badly damaged car, said Sgt. Joshua Schirard.

Officers tried to free Reed from the driver's seat by using crowbars and sledge hammers to remove the door, but the car burst into flames. The officers tried to fight the fire with extinguishers from their cars until firefighters arrived, but Reed was pronounced dead, according ot the Galveston Police Department.

Sara Santana, 20, was transported to University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, but had "sustained massive trauma," police said, and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.

Robby Jones, who was friends with Reed since he was 5 years old, said the couple leaves behind a 7-month-old son, Bentley.

"He loved his little boy Bentley more than life itself," Jones said. "He loved him to the moon and back."

Reed played football in junior high and at Houston ISD's Sterling High School, Jones said, and found his "soul mate" in Santana.

"He loved Sara to death," he said.

Reed had a rough childhood and battled addiction as a teen, but was loyal to his friends, and loved his family deeply, Jones said.

"He lived life to the fullest," he said.

Schirard said it was unknown if alcohol played any role in the accident.

Source :
Young couple killed when car crashes, bursts into flames near Seawall