Two best friends who had just started their senior year of high school were killed in a horrific Victorville crash that left one vehicle split in half, one driver under arrest and another, who allegedly left his child at the crash site, still being sought by authorities.

Maddalyn Dailey and Isabell Hill, known to loved ones as “Maddy” and “Izzy,” had been friends since elementary school and were students at Sultana High School.

Maddalyn would have turned 18 in November.

“She was my baby girl,” her father, Dustin Dailey, told KTLA.

Family members said the two teens were rarely apart.

“Her and her friend Isabell, they were ride or die,” Dailey said. “They were inseparable.”

Isabell’s mother, Megan Delang, remembered her daughter as “so smart, so kind” and “beauti

happened as Maddalyn was taking Isabell home before returning to her own family for dinner, her father said.

“She says, ‘OK, I’m going to run Izzy home real quick.’ OK, see you when you get back,” Dailey recalled.

Less than a minute later, he heard the crash.

“I heard the impact, and I automatically knew,” he said.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the drivers of a Chevrolet Camaro and a Dodge were both speeding northbound on Ridgecrest Road when Maddalyn’s Acura entered the roadway from Elmwood Drive.

Investigators believe the drivers of the Camaro and Dodge know each other.

Both vehicles struck Maddalyn’s Acura, with the force of the collision splitting the car in half, authorities said.

The driver of the Dodge was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter. The other driver fled the scene and had not been located as of Monday, investigators said.

Authorities said that driver left his child at the crash site.

So far, investigators have not provided any information on the identity of the driver arrested at the scene, nor have they released a description of the man who reportedly left his child and fled.

While several residents told KTLA they believe the two drivers may have been racing, authorities have not confirmed that allegation.

Longtime neighborhood resident Dale Lee said speeding has been a persistent problem along Ridgecrest Road and that neighbors have pushed for additional safety measures for years.

Two people were killed in a major three-car crash in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2026. (ONSCENE.TV)
Two people were killed in a major three-car crash in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2026. (ONSCENE.TV)
Two people were killed in a major three-car crash in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2026. (ONSCENE.TV)
The wreckage of vehicles involved in a three-car crash that left two people dead in Victorville on Aug. 14, 2026. (OnScene.TV)
Two people were killed in a major three-car crash in Victorville on Aug. 16, 2026. (ONSCENE.TV)

Lee, who heard the collision from inside his home, said a dip in the roadway can make approaching vehicles difficult to see.

“You could see that there’s a dip and the car will completely disappear,” he said.

Lee also acknowledged rumors that the speeding vehicles may have been traveling without their headlights on but stressed that information had not been confirmed.

“We’ve been trying for years to get them to do something,” Lee said of safety concerns along the roadway.

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A memorial has since been established near the crash site as the community mourns the two teenagers. Senior activities at Sultana High School have also been postponed, and loved ones are raising money to support both grieving families.

For Maddalyn’s father, the ordinary moments he once shared with his daughter are now the ones he desperately wishes he could have back.

“I wouldn’t complain over dirty dishes, I wouldn’t complain,” Dailey said. “I would do anything to have her back right now.”

He also finds himself replaying his daughter’s final trip from home.

“I wish I would have told her no, you have to stay home,” he said. “She’s always been such a good girl. There’s just no reason that she couldn’t hang out with them. It was Friday night.”

CHP officials told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson they have not yet located the person of interest believed to have fled the scene of the deadly crash.

The Hesperia Unified School District released a statement on the death of the two teens, which read in part: “The loss of these bright young individuals leaves a profound void across our campuses and community. The entire HUSD family mourns the loss, and our most sincere thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences go out to the families, friends, and loved ones of the students we lost.”

The district said that additional counseling and crisis support services are being brought to the Sultana High School campus as students and staff navigate their grief during this difficult time.