Friends Hold Vigil For Student Injured In Highway Crash

PALM DESERT -Friends and family of a College of the Desert student are praying for his survival after a crash that killed his girlfriend and a motorcyclist.

Zachary McMan is reportedly in a medically induced coma after the car he was driving Sunday swerved into oncoming traffic on Highway 74 south of Palm Desert.

Police say hehit a motorcycle, killing 62-year-old William Kaplan of Rancho Mirage andseriously injuring a passenger.

And the collision killed McMan’s girlfriend, 20-year-old Celeste Striker.

Friends honored the two at a vigil last night. They say McMan and Striker had been dating since late last year.

She had just started college. Zachary is a student and a math tutor on campus.

Highway 74 near Mountain Center is known to be a very windy and dangerous stretch of roadway.

California Highway Patrol officers are warning drivers there to slow down.