SAN BERNARDINO >> A 19-year-old died and three others were injured after what police say might have been a street-racing crash late Wednesday night.

• Video: Scene of the crash

Mark Anthony Jimenez of San Bernardino was driving a 1992 Mitsubishi GT 3000 west on Highland Avenue at Macy Street about 10 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, slid into the westbound lanes and crashed into a 2011 Toyota Corolla, according to San Bernardino police.

Jimenez died instantly, police said.

All three people in the Corolla suffered severe injuries and underwent surgery. They remained in critical condition Thursday, according to police Lt. Rich Lawhead.

Jimenez’s brother was driving a black Chevrolet Impala beside him, but it’s unclear if they were racing, police said.

“We don’t have anybody who can confirm they were racing,” said Lawhead.

The surviving brother declined to provide a statement to police.

• Photos: Street racing crash

While severe collisions have occurred on that stretch of road, Lawhead said the crash site isn’t known as a hub for racing. However, he said, “It’s an area that is great for it. It’s flat. It’s the mile stretch between San Bernardino and Rialto.”

Street racing, at least in the past few years, has not been a problem in the city, Lawhead said, mostly because of topography.

“We don’t really have a lot of cites in the area that are conducive to it,” Lawhead said.

News of the crash spread through Jimenez’s alma mater, Arroyo Valley High School, Thursday morning, where teacher Gerry Wright and others grieved the death of a former student.

“He was well-liked by everyone, teachers and students alike,” Wright said.

When Jimenez, during his junior year, entered Wright’s U.S. history class, the teacher worried that Jimenez wasn’t going to graduate.

But the student, who Wright described as quiet and serious-minded, turned things around, making Wright proud.

“As he got to senior year he grew and matured into a young man and realized he was close and was going to make it, so he got a little more serious,” Wright said.

During his final year at Arroyo Valley, Jimenez took Wright’s economics and government classes, sometimes showing up to class in “cowboy style” — jeans, a big belt buckle, maybe a cowboy hat.

“Great smile,” Wright said. “Kid had a great smile.”