Two toddlers were killed this week in a car crash allegedly caused by a speeding, drunk driver in a pickup truck, who then fled the scene, authorities in California said .
Police in Rialto, Calif., a suburb of San Bernardino, have charged a man with murder for allegedly causing the deaths of the two small children late Sunday night, the department announced in an Instagram post.
Officials say the driver of a Dodge Ram pickup truck blew through a red light at Riverside and Walnut avenues at about 11 p.m. on Nov. 24, striking the Honda carrying the two kids and their parents, and causing that vehicle to smash into a tow truck.
The two sisters were both in car seats, their parents told ABC7 Eyewitness News, but one was ejected from the vehicle. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police did not identify the deceased girls, but their parents, Marky Flores and Valencia Avilez, identified them as their “beloved angels” Neveah, 4, and Alinah, 3, in a GoFundMe fundraiser.
The driver of the vehicle fled the scene, but was later caught and found to be under the influence of alcohol, police allege. The motorist — identified by ABC7, NBC Los Angeles and Fox 11 as Alexis Garcia, 28, of San Bernardino — was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.
It’s not immediately clear if Garcia has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
The girls’ father, Marky, sustained a broken femur and required surgery, and will not be able to work until completely healed, the parents wrote on their fundraising appeal, which is seeking money to cover Marky’s medical bills and funeral expenses for the two girls. The couple had raised just shy of their $28,000 goal as of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
