Two toddlers are dead after their vehicle was struck by an allegedly intoxicated driver who ran a red light in Rialto Sunday night.
The three-vehicle crash occurred just after 11 p.m. at Walnut and Riverside drives, according to Sgt. Daniel Smith of the Rialto Police Department.
The girls, ages 3 and 4, were with their parents in a white Honda Accord turning left onto Walnut when a Blue Dodge Ram pickup truck headed south on Riverside ran a red light and broadsided the Accord, sending it careening into a black tow truck, Smith said.
The girls, one of whom was ejected from the vehicle, were declared dead at the scene, while their father was hospitalized with moderate injuries, Smith said. The girls were in car seats, and the mother was uninjured.
The girls’ step-grandmother Lisa Avilez identified them as Neveah and Alenia Flores.
“I’m lost for words. I just had them two weeks ago. I just went out and bought Christmas clothes for them … I’m angry. I’m angry. People do not need to be driving drunk,” Avilez said. “How many fatalities is it going to take? He just took two innocent children’s lives, and now my daughter is a mess.”
While investigating, officers discovered the pickup driver had fled the scene in his vehicle, though he was located a quarter mile away.
That driver, 28-year-old Alexis Garcia of Buellton, will be arrested on two counts of murder, one count of DUI and one count of felony hit-and-run after he is released from the hospital. He did not appear in a search of jail records.
KTLA’s Shelby Nelson spoke with Avilez on Monday near the site of the crash, where other family members and loved ones have started a memorial with flowers and candles.
The girls’ mother was also seen on Monday at the site observing the intersection and looking at the shattered glass in the streets.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, officials said Garcia was still in the hospital for injuries sustained during the incident. The father is also still in the hospital, reportedly undergoing surgery.
The driver of the tow truck was not injured. Garcia had a passenger in his pickup, but it’s unclear if that person was arrested as well.
Nancy Fontan contributed to this report.
