The 21-year-old son of comedian and actor Tony Baker (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”) was among three people killed in a devastating car crash in Burbank, California, on Tuesday night, Aug. 3.
The victims, who were ejected from their vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, included Tony’s son, Cerain Baker, and his friends Jaiden Johnson, 20, and Natalee Moghaddam, 19. An unnamed fourth passenger sustained serious injuries and was transported to a local trauma center, according to a press release from the Burbank Police Department.
Cerain’s father said that his son’s death “feels like it’s not real,” telling NBC 4 Los Angeles, “We get waves of grief. We sob uncontrollably. Then it’s back to regular conversation.” Cerain’s brother, Cencere, called him “just a guy that everybody loved, so likable!”
The victims were in a silver Volkswagen when their car was reportedly hit by two other vehicles, a gray Kia and a black Mercedes-Benz, which were moving “at a high rate of speed and appeared to be racing,” according to police.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner indicated that the three victims died from “multiple blunt force injuries,” according to People. The occupants of the Mercedes walked away uninjured, while the driver of the Kia “sustained serious injuries,” police said, and was taken to a trauma center. One of the cars caught fire, and photos show the Volkswagen in pieces, with the back half missing.
Burbank Police Sgt. Emil Brimway said that, in his 19-year career, he has never seen a car crash this catastrophic. “I haven’t seen anything like this, personally, not to this magnitude and this level of debris over a two-city block span,” he said.
Friends and family gathered to mourn and honor the victims at a vigil at the scene of the crash on Wednesday night. Ava Recchia, a friend of victim Moghaddam, told ABC7, “She always would light up a room, and she always touched everyone. She made an imprint on every single person she was friends with.”
No charges have been made, and the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
