The company that manufactures a controversial guardrail lining highways in California and across the country has been subpoenaed by the federal government, according to documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates.

According to a United States Securities and Exchange Commission report, “Trinity Industries received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice through the U.S. Attorney for the District Of Massachusetts.”

The DOJ is requesting documents from 1999 through the present relating to its ”ET-2000 and ET-Plus guardrail end-terminal products.”

Click here to read the full SEC report.

Trinity, a highway manufacturing heavyweight, has been accused in lawsuits and complaints across the country of making a change to a widely used version of its guardrail end terminals, the ET-Plus.

The changes, according to the lawsuits, cause the metal railing of the guardrail to jam up inside the terminal chute, instead of passing through the chute and pigtailing out the side, away from the vehicle. The metal then sometimes pierces through a vehicle like a spear, cutting through cars and sometimes the people inside.

In October, a jury awarded $175 million in favor of Josh Harman, the whistleblower in the federal case brought under the False Claims Act. Harman is a competitor of Trinity who alerted the Federal Highway Administration to changes made to the ET-Plus.

Click here for more about the controversy surrounding the ET-Plus.

The ET-Plus was retested earlier this year after the FHWA ordered the Dallas-based company to conduct new crash tests for the highway safety product. The demand for new testing came in October.

Some lawmakers are calling for new crash tests of the controversial guardrail after claiming the tests were “flawed.”

Click here to read more about the retesting.

According to the SEC filing, Trinity is aware of other lawsuits across the country filed against the company and "certain of its officers,” and the company believe the lawsuits are without merit.

The SEC requires that such inquiries be reported to the agency.

NBC 7 investigates reached out to Trinity for comment, but a spokesperson for the company directed us to the SEC filing. It says in part “the company intends to cooperate with this request.”

It is estimated there are 200,000 of the guardrail end terminals on roadways across the country.

The California Department of Transportation is in the process of taking a complete inventory of how many units are on state roadways, according to Matt Rocco, Caltrans Public Affairs Chief.

NBC 7 Investigates is working for you. If you have more information about this or other story tips, contact us: (619) 578-0393, NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com. To receive the latest NBC 7 Investigates stories, subscribe to our newsletter.

A man who killed his wife only to have her remains unearthed in the Anza-Borrego Desert was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday in San Diego.

Anthony Simoneau, 46, pleaded guilty in March 2015 to voluntary manslaughter in the 2007 death of his wife, Fumiko Ogawa.

According to his plea agreement, Simoneau killed Ogawa because of a "sudden quarrel in the heat of passion that resulted from an argument in which [he was] provoked."

Ogawa, 41, was last seen alive on Jan. 4, 2007, near her Point Loma home. Family members all the way in Japan reported her missing, not her husband.

The body of a woman was unearthed from a shallow grave near the Bow Willow Campground in the Anza-Borrego Desert a couple of weeks after Ogawa's disappearance.

However, it wasn't until 2011 when the remains were positively identified as Ogawa, and her case had already been cold for four years.

Simoneau moved to Honolulu after his wife’s death. He was arrested in connection with her murder in September 2014 and extradited to San Diego. He was booked into the South Bay Detention Facility, where he has been housed since his arrest.

Under his plea agreement, Simoneau faced and received 11 years behind bars, minus time already served. He’ll also be placed on parole for up to seven years and must give up any rights to Ogawa's remains.

Family members were not present for Simoneau’s sentencing, but a prosecutor  did read victim impact statements before the court.

This included a statement from Ogawa’s parents in Japan who claimed Simoneau was after “money, money, money” at the time of her killing.

“You are a murderer,” the parents said in their statement.

The prosecutor also read a statement from the victim’s brother who had this to say to Simoneau: “It’s unforgivable that it took you so long to confess.”

Simoneau faced forward in court and remained solemn during the reading of the family’s statements.

According to Simoneau’s probation report released by the San Diego County Probation Department Thursday, Ogawa’s parents hired a private investigator to look for her in September 2007 after they hadn’t been in contact with Ogawa in many months.

Simoneau told the investigator Ogawa “left” on Jan. 4, 2007, and he hadn’t seen on heard from her since. A missing person report was filed on behalf of the victim’s parents in November 2007.

According to the probation report, investigators determined Simoneau was the “only person whose behavior before, during and after Fumiko’s death revealed motive(s) and opportunity for the crime of murder.”

The report said Simoneau “did everything in his power to deflect the focus of suspicion from himself” during the four-and-a-half year period between when Ogawa died and when her remains were positively identified.

Simoneau told many stories about what happened to Ogawa following her disappearance. The report said that included repeatedly telling the victim’s parents she was unable to talk on the phone because “she is asleep” or “she is in the shower” or “she is out walking the dog.”

He also told neighbors Ogawa had gone to Hawaii to prepare their new condo in advance of an alleged planned move there. He told his landlord Ogawa was in Japan caring for a relative, the report stated.

Investigators said the couple had amassed a lot of debt and Ogawa had inherited a large amount of money from an aunt. Ogawa had also purchased a $500,000 life insurance policy in January 2005, listing Simoneau as the beneficiary.

On April 1, 2007, which was after Ogawa's death, Simoneau wrote a $535 check to renew the life insurance policy which was worth $520,000 paid to him upon his wife's death, the report said.

Documents state there was infidelity in the couple’s marriage. In 2005, Simoneau began soliciting sex on Craigslist several times a week. Many of those posts solicited male/male sexual encounters. He met another woman on the website in May 2006 and wound up meeting her face-to-face in Japan one year later, after Ogawa was killed.

In January 2007, Simoneau showed a friend a bullet hole in his bedroom window and claimed someone had broken into his home and fired his gun while trying to steal it. Investigators said a search warrant at Simoneau’s apartment in September 2011 revealed a bullet hole in the ceiling and eave outside his bedroom window. Investigators also found a .45-caliber projectile. Simoneau owned a .45 Sig Sauer pistol during this time frame, the report said.

“After a thorough review of evidence, investigators concluded Simoneau had killed Fumiko. Any doubt about who killed Fumiko was eliminated when the defendant plead guilty to the killing on March 12, 2015,” the report stated.

A student died and two others were injured in a collision in front of Santee's West Hills High School Thursday afternoon, officials confirmed.

As a Taurus sedan tried to make a left-hand turn off Mast Boulevard onto the campus, a gold Ford Explorer T-boned the car "at a high rate of speed" around 12:50 p.m., said Santee Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Stuber.

The Ford hit with such force that it caused the car to back into a truck waiting behind it. Brothers inside the sedan had to be cut from the vehicle by fire crews. That process took approximately 20 minutes, Stuber said.

One of the students, Ryan Willweber, was airlifted to the hospital, but he died there a short time later.

His brother Cory, another West Hills High student, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital for broken bones to his shoulder and face, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The Ford driver, who is a West Hills graduate, complained of arm pain and was taken to the hospital for observation. He returned to the scene of the fatal accident later that afternoon, obviously shaken.

The driver in the truck was not injured.

The cause of the collision is under investigation. Parts of Mast Boulevard remained closed hours due to the accident.

Later that night, students held a candlelight vigil around the school's flagpole in honor of Ryan Willweber, a track athlete at the school. Hundreds also took to social media to give voice to their grief.

Many at the school plan to wear blue Friday to remember Ryan.

The school district will also provide grief counseling and other support for West Hill High students.

A student from the high school, who was not involved in the crash, is a fire cadet and his father is a fire captain. That student told NBC 7 he heard the accident and ran to his car to get his first aid response bag. The student then ran to the scene and began performing the initial first-response on the victims alongside a school nurse until medics arrived.

West Hills High School sophomore Jonathan Hefty said he also witnessed the crash and ran over to help.

“[It sounded like] just the loudest brakes you’ve ever heard crash,” he recalled. “I was one of the first to run up. Checking it out, we saw – it didn’t look too good.”
 

The most serious charge against one of the Baltimore officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray is one many Americans likely have not heard of: depraved heart murder.

The Legal Information Institute, a research group housed at Cornell University Law School, defines the charge this way: "Killing someone in a way that demonstrates a callous disregard for the value of human life. For example, if a person intentionally fires a gun into a crowded room, and someone dies, the person could be convicted of depraved heart murder."

Officer Caesar Goodson, Jr., who drove the police van that brought Gray to a police station, is charged with second-degree depraved heart murder.

He is accused of failing to get medical help for Gray and failing to secure him with a seat belt inside the van. At one point, he drove to help with another arrest instead of providing medical help to Gray, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said.

"Despite Mr. Gray’s obvious and recognized need for medical assistance, Officer Goodson in a grossly negligent manner chose to respond to the 1600 block of West North Avenue with Mr. Gray still unsecured by a seat belt in the wagon without rendering to or summonsing medical assistant for Mr. Gray," Mosby said.

Five other officers — Officer William Porter, Lt. Brian Rice, Officer Edward Nero, Garrett Miller and Sgt. Alicia White — also face charges. Those range from involuntary manslaughter to misconduct in office and false imprisonment.

A lawyer for some of the officers accused Mosby of a rush to judgment.

"The officers did nothing wrong," the lawyer, Michael Davey, said Friday. "These injuries did not occur as a result of any action or inaction on the part of these officers."

Hoping to unearth a Kentucky Derby winner at a price?

We got your long shots right here.

We're talking the next Giacomo, who won at 50-1 and returned $102.60 for a $2 win bet 10 years ago. We're talking Mine That Bird, who won at the same odds in 2009 and paid $103.20. We're even talking Animal Kingdom in 2011, who won at 20-1 ($43.90), and I'll Have Another, who won the next year at 15-1 ($32.60).

Favorites Orb and California Chrome came through the past two years, and 5-2 top choice American Pharoah could make it three in a row Saturday.

The 20-horse field is said to be one of the toughest in years, but there are five horses at 50-1 odds, six at 30-1 and two at 20-1 — 65 percent of the field.

Here goes nothing — or maybe something big:

1. Frosted, 15-1: If trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is right, he's got his horse pitch perfect at the right time. So many issues all seemed to clear up when this gray colt won the Wood Memorial by two lengths under his new rider Joel Rosario — who won the 2013 Derby with Orb. Good post (No. 14), good trainer, good rider and very wealthy owners, Godolphin Racing. Not your ultimate long shot, but double-digit odds are always tempting.

2. Far Right, 30-1: We were loving El Kabeir in this spot, but tenderness near his left front foot discovered Friday morning knocks him out of consideration. So we're turning to Far Right, winner of the Smarty Jones and Southwest and a distant second to American Pharoah in the Arkansas Derby. The upside is three-time Derby winner Mike Smith has the mount. He's among the most tenacious riders in the business, and knows his way around Churchill Downs, even from post No. 19. Smith's Derby win came aboard Giacomo in '05 and he'll be riding in his 21st Run for the Roses. Trainer Ron Moquett is a Derby rookie but has seemed even-keeled all week.

3. Itsaknockout, 30-1: Sold on the name. Plus, don't you have to go with at least one of trainer Todd Pletcher's horses? His top horse is 8-1 with a lousy post, the other is 12-1 with only three previous starts ... so here we are. Plus, who can resist the cross-promotion with the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight? Luis Saez aboard? Not great, but he's 3-for-4 with the bay colt if you include the victory in the Fountain of Youth after first-place finisher Upstart was DQ'd to second for interference in the stretch. He was a distant fourth in the Florida Derby, but that's why he's a long shot.

4. Mr. Z, 50-1: Why would Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas even enter this colt, who has only a maiden win to his credit? Well, as rival trainer Nick Zito likes to say, "If you don't run, you can't even lose." And with that logic, Lukas' long shot becomes intriguing. The colt seems to be his own worst enemy — he lugged outside in a race, veered out in another, and what may have been a last-gasp measure, has been fitted with blinkers to keep focused. While he has lost 11 in a row, he's finished in the top three in seven graded stake races, most recently third in the Arkansas Derby. And, two of Lukas' four Derby wins came with long shots — Charismatic (31-1) in 1999 and Thunder Gulch (24-1) in 1995.

5. Firing Line, 12-1: Caught! Technically not a true long shot — but we're hoping his odds increase once betting begins. If not, oh well. Cashing in at current odds won't be hard to take. The colt was beaten twice by a nose by Dortmund, then won the Sunland Derby by 14 1/4 lengths. Jockey Gary Stevens is looking for his fourth Derby win, and first since 1997 with Silver Charm.

The mayor of Santee and a sheriff’s department captain said the intersection in front of West Hills High School where a student was killed in a crash Thursday is considered "safe."

“At this intersection over the last 10 years, we’ve had one minor accident – a left-hand turn by a student going into the high school,” Santee Mayor Randy Voepel said at a media briefing Friday in front of campus. “There is no traffic light here because, traditionally, there are no accidents here.”

“It is a safe road for collisions,” added San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Capt. James Bovet.

“This is a safe intersection. It has been for the past 10 years.”

The mayor and captain were referring to Mast Boulevard, which runs along West Hills High School in Santee.

On Thursday afternoon, student Ryan Willweber, 17, and his brother, Cory, were involved in a deadly crash as they drove on Mast Boulevard on their way into West Hills High School.

As the teens’ sedan tried to make a left-hand turn onto the campus, a gold Ford Explorer T-boned the car at a high rate of speed, officials said. The Explorer struck the sedan with such force it caused the car to back into a truck waiting behind it.

The brothers inside the sedan had to be cut from their crushed vehicle by fire crews. Willweber was critically injured and was airlifted to a local hospital. Sadly, he died shortly thereafter.

Following the accident, many parents and students expressed concerns over the entrance into the school, saying a traffic light is needed in the area.

However, Capt. Bovet believes this is not the case. Still, he said the intersection will be evaluated to determine whether traffic safety improvements are needed.

“Collisions really aren’t a factor on this stretch,” said Capt. Bovet. “But we will be working with a traffic engineer from the city to look and see if there are any other measures we can take because obviously this is very serious.”

According to Voepel, there are few accidents along Mast Boulevard despite the fact that it’s heavily traveled.

The mayor said the street was “evaluated intensely in 2003,” and has been reevaluated every year since then. He too said the road would be looked at once again for safety flaws following this
deadly crash.

Capt. Bovet said the current speed limit on Mast Boulevard is 40 mph and 25 mph when kids are present near the school.

While deputies do not handle many accidents on Mast Boulevard, Capt. Bovet said deputies do conduct daily speed and traffic enforcement on the road and issue citations as needed.

“Our radar enforcement is really the whole length of Mast Boulevard. Frankly, we have more speed on the east end than we do on the west end. It’s rare that we write tickets for very high speed on this road but we do tend to write people up for just over the speed limit,” he explained.

The crash that took Willweber’s life is under investigation.

Capt. Bovet said it does not appear the teenager was distracted behind the wheel. He was not texting or using his phone at the time of the crash, the captain confirmed.

Both Capt. Bovet and Voepel said the loss of the young student is a tragedy.

“Certainly the whole community is in mourning right now,”added Capt. Bovet.

Grief counselors were on site Friday at West Hills High School to help students cope with their peer’s death.

On Thursday night, students, teachers and parents packed into the school for an emotional candlelight vigil for Willweber.

Capt. Bovet said the others injured in the crash were doing better Friday, including Willweber’s brother, Cory, who was a passenger in the sedan at the time of the collision.

One wildcard contender in Saturday's Kentucky Derby didn't have an easy journey to Churchill Downs. Mubtaahij's entry into the race touched off a 24-hour trek from Dubai to the U.S., with plenty of hurdles along the way for him and his trainer, Michael de Kock.

De Kock, one of South Africa's premier trainers, has won races on four continents, but Saturday will be the first time he'll have a horse race at Churchill Downs. If that weren't challenge enough, de Kock cannot give Mubtaahij his regular food, and it's the first time the colt is racing in the U.S.

“I don’t think there’s a massive amount of expectation,” de Kock, 51, told NBC of his 3-year-old thoroughbred, whose name means "elated" in Arabic.

Mubtaahij is considered a wildcard, but his trainer and experts say he deserves to be running in the field headed by champion American Pharoah and unbeaten Dortmund, along with strong contenders like Frosted, Carpe Diem, Materiality, International Star and Firing Line.

"This is definitely one of the toughest Kentucky Derbys that we’ve seen in quite some time, but Mubtaahij still deserves to be in the field," NBC Sports' racing analyst Randy Moss said. "The way he won the UAE Derby, the ease with which he won it, the acceleration that he showed made it pretty much a no-brainer that at least they ship him over and give him a try. I don’t think it’s an impossible task at all."

But running in the Derby's crowded field of 20 horses will be a new experience for Mubtaahij. The colt has only ever run in much smaller fields, so it's anyone's guess how he'll fare in Louisville, de Kock said.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do. I can’t even venture a prediction," de Kock said. "But he does have a very sound mind, and I’m relying on that."

Long Voyages With New Food

Mubtaahij, owned by the Dubai emir's cousin Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Saeed Al Maktoum, arrived at Churchill Downs Monday night after an epic trans-Atlantic journey that began April 15. After a 24-hour trip from the United Arab Emirates to Amsterdam to Chicago, the horse spent the last few weeks quarantined and training for a few days at Arlington Park in Chicago.

"It's just a long time on the road," de Kock said. “He’s coming out of 37 degrees Celsius [about 98 degrees Fahrenheit] in Dubai into Chicago, where it was one or 2 degrees overnight."

And now that the colt is in Louisville, he has to adjust to a new diet; he can't eat his regular feed in the U.S., because it's not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). De Kock says the change in what he's been eating since he arrived stateside hasn't affected his mood or appetite, but there's no way to tell now how it may affect his run Saturday at the Derby.

Mubtaahij will also be the first horse in a decade to compete in the race without Lasix, the blood-thinning drug that all other Derby thoroughbreds are given to protect against exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. If he should win, he'd be the first Lasix-free Derby champ since Grindstone in 1996. De Kock says Mubtaahij doesn’t need the medication.

"I don’t see it as disadvantage, and it wouldn’t be an excuse, either,” de Kock said. “I feel that the horse doesn’t have a problem with bleeding, and I just don’t want to give the medication because everyone else is giving it."

The colt has also never raced on a track in the U.S., though he has run five times in the past five months, capturing the $2 million U.A.E. Derby on March 28 and earning a chance to compete across the Atlantic. He has four victories in five starts on dirt, after performing poorly in his first two career starts on turf.

Intense Pressure in Louisville

Still, the pace of the Kentucky Derby will be a challenge for Mubtaahij, according to Moss, because it and other major horse races in the U.S. are run at a faster pace than the races in Dubai this year, the U.A.E. Derby in particular. Jockeys at the Kentucky Derby get more aggressive in the first part of the race than they might ordinarily in a mile-and-a-quarter race.

"When you have a 20-horse field, there’s added pressure on the riders to get positioned and avoid being put in a situation where they run in a middle of a big crowd of horses, and you get bumped around," Moss explained." It definitely will be faster — much faster than what Mubtaahij has encountered in Dubai."

The speed and the large contender field aren't the only challenges. The level of noise at Churchill Downs on the day of the race can be overwhelming to any horse. They can get stressed and frazzled, becoming more quickly fatigued.

“There is no way to prepare a horse for it,” Moss said. “For the most part, race horses are trained in pretty bucolic settings, without a lot of stress. There aren’t very large crowds anymore even for a lot of the major races, so when they get to Churchill Downs and they hear 150,000 people on the Kentucky Derby day, it’s a completely foreign experience for the racehorses.”

De Kock joked that he’s probably picked the worst year to attempt to run in the Kentucky Derby, but he considers it a fact-finding mission.

“If this works really well, we hope to repeat it,” de Kock said. “It’s all quite a bit experimental, but we do know we have a lovely horse.” 

The stepfather of Freddie Gray said the family is "satisfied" with prosecutors charging six police officers involved in Gray's arrest.

"These charges are an important step in getting justice for Freddie," Richard Shipley said, speaking on behalf of the Gray family.

Prosecutors said Gray died after suffering a critical spine injury in the back of a police wagon.

Shipley also pleaded for peace in Baltimore, saying the last thing that Freddie would want is to see people of Baltimore lose their jobs and businesses because of his death.

"We ask that whomever come to our city, a city that we love, a city that we live in, come in peace," Shipley said.

An attorney for the Gray family said at the news conference that people must be mindful that the charges are a first step, not the last.

State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby says Gray's death was a homicide, his arrest was illegal and his treatment amounted to murder and manslaughter.

An attorney speaking on behalf of the officers said the charges are a rush to judgment.

Baltimore police said they arrested 38 people in incidents related to protests Friday, and arrested 15 curfew-breakers Friday night.

The city is "no longer under tactical alert," Sgt. Jarron Jackson said at a brief press conference late Friday night.

Marchers had remained on Baltimore's streets after a 10 p.m. curfew fell Friday, defying police. The marches seemed to die down shortly before 11 p.m. -- thanks in part to police who arranged themselves in long lines, carrying transparent shields, to herd the protesters off the streets.

In a series of tweets, Baltimore police said the protesters remained in Baltimore's War Memorial Plaza "in violation of the curfew" and that officers were arresting protesters who refused to leave. 

Earlier in the evening, a more jubilant crowd gathered at the Pennsylvania and North avenues intersection in West Baltimore. More than 100 people were dancing in the streets Friday night and chanting "Freddie" to celebrate charges against six officers in connection with Freddie Gray's death.

The marches followed peaceful and celebratory gatherings Friday, expressing support of the charges filed against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray. 

Demonstrations also broke out in other major U.S. cities, including Chicago and Oakland.

The Baltimore protesters said they planned to march to the Baltimore City Detention Center, where at least three of the officers are being held. As they marched, they chanted, "no justice, no peace" and "we support Freddie Gray."

A large crowd gathered earlier in the afternoon at West North Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore -- the intersection where rioters gathered Monday, damaging some stores and businesses.

Cars honked as they traveled by, as marchers waved flags and signs. Police gathered, too,  though the interaction between the police and marchers was peaceful.

One mother brought her young son to the march.

"He's here because I just wanted him to have a minute of euphoria before the realistic work of seeking real justice happens," said Baltimore resident Elissa Blount-Moorhead. "It's so rare that we even have this minue of happy celebration.

"And he asked me, in his terms, about accountability and punishment," Blount-Moorhead said. "I explained to him that people were happy because this is the first time that we feel that there is going to be accountability."

Groups organizing some of the marches have announced plans for a "victory rally" Saturday in Baltimore.

Passengers on a Holland America Cruise Ship returned to Port Everglades in Florida Friday morning after at least 60 people on-board became sick, officials say.

The passengers on the MS Maasdam began experiencing gastrointestinal illness while on a 14-day sailing. Sick guests and crew were kept inside staterooms.

In a statement, Holland America Line says the ship will undergo a thorough sanitizing.

The ship is scheduled to depart at 5 p.m. on its next sailing, a 15-day Atlantic Coast Cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, Canada.

This is a developing story and will be updated as soon as new information becomes available.

Students at West Hills High School in Santee are mourning the sudden loss of their peer killed in a car accident who was known as a kind, studious young man devoted to the school’s track team.

On Thursday afternoon, student Ryan Willweber, 17, and his brother, Cory, were involved in a deadly crash as they drove near their high school on Mast Boulevard.

As the teens’ sedan tried to make a left-hand turn out of the campus, a gold Ford Explorer T-boned the car at a high rate of speed, officials said. The Explorer struck the sedan with such force it caused the car to back into a truck waiting behind it.

The brothers inside the sedan had to be cut from their crushed vehicle by fire crews. Willweber was critically injured and was airlifted to a local hospital. Sadly, he died shortly thereafter.

On Thursday night, dozens upon dozens of students piled into West Hills High School and held a tearful candlelight vigil in remembrance of Willweber. After the vigil, his peers gathered around the school’s track to watch the track team run in Willweber’s honor.

The student was a standout athlete and ran track for the West Hills Wolf Pack.

"I'm pretty sure he had a bright future ahead of him,” said student Marco Ovies. "The way he affected so many lives, it's like all the people who came out here. I'm sure some of them didn't even know who he was or never saw him. You can just tell he touched a lot of people.”

Students had many positive memories of Willweber.

"[He was] a good friend, very studious, very caring to all his teammates and anyone that he has ever known,” one student told NBC 7. "Always had a smile on his face, he was always excited to go
running.”

The sudden loss hit students hard, especially because many students witnessed the crash or saw Willweber right before it happened.

"Sad, it's just like a tragic loss and you just have to be thankful because it happens in the blink of an eye and you don't know when it could happen,” said one peer.

The vigil brought peace to those who loved Willweber, but the teen's death brings much pain to the Wolf Pack.

"I think it's really touching and it really makes you feel good that people can come together as a community when there's something really tragic that happens,” another student told NBC 7.

School officials said grief counselors will be on-hand at West Hills High School Friday to help students cope with the tragedy. Students planned to wear blue to school as a way of honoring Willweber.

Willweber’s brother, Cory, survived the crash but was hospitalized for broken bones to his shoulder and face, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The two others involved in the crash – the driver of the Explorer and the driver of the truck – sustained minor injuries.

The fatal accident remains under investigation.

The mayor of Santee, Randy Voepel, is scheduled to hold a media briefing near the entrance to West Hills High School Friday at 11 a.m. to discuss the accident. Sheriff's deputies will also be there to answer questions about the crash. This briefing will be streamed live above.
 

SeaWorld San Diego has been cited for allegedly failing to train workers to safely interact with its killer whales.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued four citations this week that carry nearly $26,000 in fines, according to published reports.

The citations say the park hasn't kept employees aware of hazards involving the orcas. They say employees ride and swim with killer whales in the park's medical pool — although keepers aren't allowed in the Shamu Stadium pool during orca shows.

The citations were the result of an inspection of SeaWorld San Diego by Cal/OSHA following a complaint.

SeaWorld plans to appeal. It says the citations show a "fundamental misunderstanding" of what's needed to safely care for orcas.

“The citations issued by Cal/OSHA today were not precipitated by any workplace incident, accident or injury, and they reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the requirements of safely caring for killer whales in a zoological setting,” SeaWorld spokesman David Koontz said in a statement.

Koontz went on to state that SeaWorld has made “significant safety enhancements to our killer whale program,” including implementing personal emergency air systems and lifting pool floors.

SeaWorld has battled negative publicity since the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" suggested the treatment of captive orcas provokes violent behavior. It also noted the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in an attack by a killer whale.

In response, SeaWorld has launched an advertising campaign to show the allegations in the documentary are false and that its trainers care and safely work with the park’s animals.

An 80-year-old man was the victim of a carjacking in the parking lot of a grocery store in Lincoln Park Friday morning, officials confirmed.

San Diego police said an unknown suspect stole the elderly man’s vehicle at around 8:40 a.m. in the parking lot of a Food4Less store in the 300 block of Euclid Avenue.

The victim was parking and had kept the engine running. His window was down when an unknown man walked up to the car, put a solid object simulating a weapon to the back of his head and ordered the victim to get out.

The suspect then hopped into the 2013 Black Ford Edge and took off. He was last seen driving eastbound on Euclid Avenue.

Police said the elderly victim was not injured in the carjacking. The suspect is described as a short-haired Hispanic man between 20 and 30 years old, standing at approximately 5-foot-6 with a stocky build. No clothing description was released.

The investigation is ongoing.

Starting on May 1, tough new water restrictions go into place in Poway and violators could face hefty fines.

The restrictions are an effort to comply with Governor Jerry Brown’s Executive Order on drought restrictions amid California’s historic dry spell.

It will mean a big change in the day-to-day watering habits for residents in Poway.

Here’s a look at the changes:

• No watering will be allowed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
• There will be two designated water days.
• Homeowners with even numbered addresses will only be allowed to water on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
• Those with odd numbered addresses will only be allowed to water on Sundays and Thursdays.
• Apartments, condos and businesses will be allowed to water on Mondays and Fridays.
• For Poway resident Nick Pfieffer, it’s a significant change.

“Normally, it’s about 10 minutes each station, every day in the morning. It'll have to shut down to 10 minutes every other day now. And during those off days, if it's really hot, it’s gonna probably kill and it's been real hard to keep it like this,” said Pfeiffer.

First-time offenders will get a courtesy notice, but after that it will get expensive.

Violators will face a surcharge of $100 on their bills for the next offense and as much as $500 if it keeps happening.

After that violators will face a surcharge of $100 for the next offense and as much as $500 if it keeps happening.

City employees and retired volunteer patrol officers will monitor neighborhoods keeping a close eye out for violators.

According to Poway’s city website, the city has already begun taking steps to conserve water at city facilities and parks.

On April 22, the City Council authorized staff to begin removing nearly 86,000 square feet of grass at 11 city facilities and parks reducing the city’s annual water use by 2.9 million gallons. In compliance with the Governor’s Executive Order, the Poway will also stop watering grass on city-maintained street medians unless irrigated with reclaimed water.

In addition, Poway has begun installing water-efficient showerheads and dual-flush toilet valves in city facilities, using water-wise landscaping in parking lots, and installing smart irrigation controllers.

A suspect who tried to steal from a Chula Vista store threw a knife at an officer and took off wearing just one shoe, officials said Friday.

Chula Vista police officers set up a perimeter around the Kohl's at 1870 Main Court at 4:30 p.m. to look for the suspected shoplifter.

They say he was trying to take items from the store when he was confronted by a loss prevention officer.

The suspect pulled out a knife and threw it at the officer's back, according to police. The employee declined medical attention. 

The man ran away, leaving one shoe behind. Police brought in K-9 units to help in the search, which led them east of the Kohl's into a canyon area. However, their search came up with nothing.

They are looking for a man wearing a blue Chargers jersey and blue jeans, about 30 years old. He has long brown hair in a ponytail.

The investigation is ongoing.

Oceanside Fire investigators questioned a person of interest in an Oceanside brush fire, one of four to pop up in the past couple of days.

Early Friday morning, firefighters found the person of interest near College Boulevard and Lake Boulevard – the site of a brush fire that sparked just after midnight.

The person was questioned by the Carlsbad police, but no arrest has been made.

Investigators are trying to determine if that fire is connected to three others in Oceanside. The first was on Wednesday in the San Luis Rey Riverbed, though it was extinguished before it could spread far.

The second happened close by at about 2:35 p.m. Thursday, just west of College Boulevard and North River Road. By the time firefighters arrived, it had grown to a 50 by 50-foot area, moving through thick brush.

Firefighter had it under control about 35 minutes after it was reported and had grown to one-quarter acre.

Just four hours later, the third fire began spreading in a homeless camp near Frazee Road and College Boulevard. It too was extinguished before it could get threaten people or structures.

Shoppers love bargains when they see them, and this month, there are plenty to find.

It's out with the old and in with the new at local department stores.

Winter clothes should be gone. Spring fashions are now hitting discount displays. Look for deals on Easter dresses, sweaters and shoes.

Summer styles will be selling at full price, however.

Speaking of summer, this is the time to find the best selection to replace your old barbeque, outdoor furniture and mowers, but you're going to pay full price. These items won't go on sale until August and September, so you may want to wait.

If you have been thinking about getting a new refrigerator, the new models start hitting the showroom floor in early summer. There could be clearance sales starting this month.

Many say this is a good time to buy a mattress. It seems mattress stores are always advertising specials, but in May you'll find deeper discounts.

Mother's Day is around the corner. Jewelry prices often go up leading to Mother's Day; smaller jewelry stores may be more willing to bargain just before or after the holiday.

You'll also find lower prices on party supplies after the traditional graduation and wedding season starts wrapping up. That could be late May through June.

Now is a good time to get a new Blu-ray player.  They are going down in price because more and more people are streaming video. It is also a good time to pick up a Roku, but you might want to hold off on the Apple TV.  Prices are dropping on the Apple TV, but many think that is because Apple may be announcing an upgrade later this month.

And speaking of upgrades, if you're in the market for a new car, the Memorial Day weekend is historically a good time to negotiate a deal. Car companies often add special incentives, from lower prices to lower interest rates.

While city leaders say only one previous crash has happened where a high school student died, data obtained by NBC 7 Investigates reveals that at least five crashes have taken place in the area -- two with injuries. 

On Thursday afternoon, student Ryan Willweber, 17, and his brother Cory were involved in a deadly crash as they tried turning onto Mast Boulevard on their way out of West Hills High School.

Santee Mayor Randy Voepel held a press conference Friday to extend his condolences to family and friends of a student who was killed in a crash Thursday. At that time, he also stressed that the stretch of road and intersection where the young man died is “safe.”

“At this intersection over the last 10 years, we’ve had one minor accident – a left-hand turn by a student going into the high school,” Santee Mayor Randy Voepel said at a media briefing Friday in front of campus.

NBC7 Investigates dug into California Highway Patrol’s SWITRS data of traffic accidents.

In the past 10 years, we found there were at least five accidents near the intersection of Mast and West Hills High. Two of those were injury accidents, resulting in a total of four people hurt.

We also reviewed data for the stretch of Mast Boulevard a mile east, and for the shorter stretch in the other direction to the 52 freeway. It shows 76 accidents in that area in the last 10 years, resulting in 60 injured people.

Parents and community members have been pushing for a traffic light to be added to this intersection. Voepel said he is not convinced.

“The reason not to have a light is there traditionally have been no accidents here,” Voepel said. “If we put a traffic light or a stop sign at every intersection in town, it is a conflict between the use of the right of way and safety. It’s a constant trade-off.”

NBC 7 Investigates, in partnership with Esri, produced this interactive map of that data. If you click on the right triangles in the upper right corner of the pop-up, you can click through the different accidents that have occurred in the area. If you cannot see the map below on your mobile device, click here.

NBC 7 Investigates is working for you. If you have more information about this or other story tips, contact us: (619) 578-0393, NBC7Investigates@nbcuni.com. To receive the latest NBC 7 Investigates stories subscribe to our newsletter.

NBC 7's Gene Cubbison offers this analysis on the latest dealings behind the Chargers' stadium scramble.

A veil of secrecy has just fallen over the mayor's stadium advisory group, less than three weeks until a financing plan for rebuilding on the current Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley due.

Since late January, the group has been nothing if not high-profile on air, online and in print.

Now, as of May Day, it's gone off-radar — not unintentionally. The idea is to better focus on the task at hand.

According to the group’s spokesman, Tony Manolatos, the idea of “no news” from them makes sense because feeding the Media Beast while counter-pointing the Chargers' spin has been a real chore.

The members are tired of trying their case in the Court of Public Opinion.

And they’re retreating into a vow of silence just in time to ignore one more opinion — from a source of some stature — that’s being argued.

“Call the Chargers’ bluff” declares the headline over the page-four editorial in the latest edition of San Diego CityBeat, written by Ron Donoho, who recently took the reins of the long-feisty alternative weekly with a generally progressive readership.

Donoho said reaction so far has been overwhelming supportive.

But he totally gets where dissenters are coming from.

“There's so much heart involved with rooting for your football team,” Donoho said in an interview Friday. "I don't think anyone wants this team to leave. But the point is, the citizens of San Diego should not pay for the team."

San Diegans and the sporting world at large are hearing grand progress reports on the Chargers' stadium plans in the city of Carson, seeing dazzling renderings.

But no dollar signs, deeds or detailed development documents.

So is the project a bluff, as many suspect?

Under what circumstances is it worth calling — and accepting — the downside risk?

"If this were a game of poker, the Chargers have put all their chips into the middle,“ Donoho figured, “and the city of San Diego can retreat, or they can call the bluff … from a business point of view, we have to look out for the people of San Diego."

The billionaires who own the local franchise of the monolithic NFL seem to hold the higher cards in a tense game of leverage not only involving Carson, but Inglewood as well.

To make a new stadium in Mission Valley pay for itself without breaking banks, shallow-pockets city leaders and taxpayers appear to be far overmatched.

There's blue-sky speculation that obituaries for the team's East Village proposal were premature, that the project might somehow be resurrected at least for threshold reconsideration.

Whatever's the case, mixed feelings abound about tough talk at this stage.

"I would give it hard thought, because I think the Chargers are calling our bluff,” says East Village resident “Woody” Watkins. “We’ve futzed around with this for years now."

But who's going to “show the money” at the level that’s needed to float the joint Chargers-Raiders development in Carson?

And how much of the Bolts’ San Diego fan base will follow them north on game days — assuming no grudges are held for betraying a half-century-plus relationship?

"You're going into L.A. traffic,” Carlsbad resident Steve Carpenter points out. “I don't want to compete with that just to go to a ballpark, to sit for three hours and then sit on the care for three hours to get back home, either way."

But for many San Diegans, losing the team could leave deep civic and psychic wounds, a sense of second-rate status among major league municipalities.

Still, that notion doesn’t fly with Clairemont resident Henry Bradley: "A second-rate city? I don't think so. Look at this place. It's a bit disingenuous to call this a second-rate city. If the Chargers were to leave, I think it would be a bad thing. But I think it's nothing we couldn't overcome."

And after all, isn't this one of National Geographic's "World Smart Cities"?

As for Inglewood, another rumored destination for the Chargers, the team no doubt would be charged big-time stadium rent of the kind it hasn’t been paying at Qualcomm Stadium for virtually a decade — after banking $36 million in rent credits between the 1997 and 2003 seasons under the notorious unsold seats guarantee.

And in the hearts of most fans in the “L.A. market” the relocated Bolts probably would be playing second fiddle to the Rams.
 

Three people have died after a shooting in Warner Springs, Cal Fire told NBC 7.

At about 6:40 p.m. on Friday, Cal Fire responders found multiple people with gunshot wounds at a home in the 30600 block of Chihuahua Road.

Two of the people had died at the scene. A 50-year-old man with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound was loaded into an ambulance, which was to meet with a helicopter to airlift him to Palomar Hospital.

He died on the way, Cal Fire says.

Sheriff's investigators are taking over the scene.

Warner Springs is about 13 miles north of Julian.

Check back here for details on this breaking news story.