Four young Pacific Union College students died late Saturday night in a three-car crash on Deer Park Road near Angwin.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Department reported that Boaz Pak, 20, Luke Nishikawa, 22, Simon Son, 19, and Chong Shin, 20, lost their lives in the wreck.

Pak was the driver of the car carrying the other young men, Napa County Sheriff’s Lt. Tracey Stuart said.

The driver of another car was seriously injured, while the driver of a third vehicle that became involved after the fatal crash was arrested for DUI.

All but one of the victims were wearing seat belts, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash happened at 11:45 p.m. Saturday on Deer Park Road at Sanitarium Road, CHP Officer Jaret Paulson said.

The PUC students were riding in a 2003 Honda Civic headed down the hill towards Napa Valley. They were pronounced dead at the scene, Paulson said.

“The Honda was smashed so bad, it took several hours for fire crews to remove the bodies,” Paulson said.

The Honda was westbound on Deer Park Road at a high rate of speed. For reasons unknown, it veered sideways into the opposite lane and smashed into an eastbound pickup driven by Sandalio Martinez, 28, of Angwin, Paulson said.

Martinez suffered major injuries and was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Carlos Rio Ortiz, 20, of Angwin, who was following Martinez, slammed into the back of Martinez’s pickup. He suffered minor injuries. He was treated at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, released and booked into Napa County jail on suspicion of DUI.

Deer Park Road was closed for about nine hours while emergency crews tended to the men and CHP officers investigated the accident.

Memorial Thursday

According to the college, the students had been playing basketball at the PUC gym Saturday night and decided to drive to the Safeway in St. Helena to get something to eat.

“The PUC community mourns the loss of four wonderful young men who were already giving service back to the community,” said PUC President Richard Osborn. “Our entire campus is grieving along with their families. But as a faith based college, we have hope that springs from our beliefs as we celebrate all these young men accomplished in their brief lives.”

Shin, 20, from Oregon, was majoring in business at PUC and was involved with the youth ministry at the Rohnert Park Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Nishikawa, 22, a history major from Honolulu, was part of a campus outreach program and had helped serve meals to the homeless in the Bay Area earlier Saturday, according to fellow students.

Pak, 20, was from Hidden Valley and was majoring in biology.

Son, 19, was also from Hidden Valley and was studying to become a nurse.

The college made grief counselors available on campus Sunday and plans a memorial service Thursday at 10 a.m.