SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An unlicensed driver who allegedly tried to evade police during a high-speed pursuit and crashed into a family's car in Mountain View, killing two young boys, was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges that include murder.
Angel Velasquez Salgado, 20, is charged in the Dec. 8, 2023, crash on an Interstate 805 off-ramp that killed brothers Malikai, 8, and Mason Orozco-Romero, 4. The boys were riding in the backseat of a sedan that was rear-ended, propelled down an embankment and into a tree, where it caught fire.
Two women in the victims' vehicle, including the boys' mother, survived the crash.
The deadly collision has prompted calls to re-examine San Diego police policies regarding vehicle pursuits. The city's Commission on Police Practices recently recommended changes to the department's policies, such as avoiding initiating pursuits over minor traffic violations.
The commission's recommended pursuit policy would only allow pursuits to be initiated "for extremely serious allegations involving life or death situations to prioritize safety and minimize risks to all parties involved."
The recommendations drew pushback from the San Diego Police Officers Association, which said limiting pursuits to certain suspects would prevent officers from pursuing DUI suspects or suspects connected to other serious crimes such as human trafficking or those in violation of domestic violence restraining orders.
"The recommendations presented by the CPP are misguided and pose significant risks to our community," the association said in a statement.
According to testimony from a preliminary hearing that stretched over three days, the officers who pursued Salgado first took notice of a headlight out on Salgado's BMW.
The officers testified that after following the BMW for a short while, it abruptly pulled into a residence's driveway on 32nd Street. A records check of the vehicle indicated its registered owner did not live at that address.
SDPD Officer Jackson Carroll, who was driving the police vehicle involved in the chase, testified that after the BMW left the residence, he tried to pull its driver over.
The car allegedly then started speeding away and made other unsafe driving maneuvers such as swerving around other cars and running a stop sign. The BMW then got onto northbound Interstate 15, where Carroll said it was "actively attempting to evade us" by speeding and frequently switching lanes. From Interstate 15, the chase continued onto eastbound state Route 94, then to southbound Interstate 805.
Carroll said that at different points during the pursuit, the BMW drove onto the shoulder and in an MTS bus lane in order to get around slower vehicles. At one point, Carroll said he was driving around 80 to 90 mph to catch up to the BMW, but it was driving faster and gaining separation.
The officers lost sight of the vehicle near the 43rd Street exit, where the crash occurred. Though the officers could no longer see the BMW, both testified to seeing "a cloud of dust" ahead of them in the area of the off-ramp.
California Highway Patrol Officer Richard Vargas testified that through his investigation of the crash, it was determined that Salgado drove onto the right shoulder of the 43rd Street off-ramp and struck the rear right side of the victims' Honda. The impact sent both vehicles spinning down the embankment.
Vargas said weather conditions did not play a role in the crash and no mechanical issues were detected in either vehicle.
After the crash, Salgado allegedly ran from the BMW and was arrested a short time later at a nearby residence.
Along with the fatal crash, Salgado is charged with hit-and-run causing injury for striking another vehicle earlier in the pursuit.
He is also charged in a separate police chase, in which prosecutors allege he sped away from an SDPD motorcycle officer in May of 2023 while driving the same BMW connected with the fatal crash.
SDPD Officer Joseph Knipp testified that the BMW was speeding on state Route 905 and as he attempted to pull the vehicle over, it sped away from him. The officer estimated that the BMW reached a maximum speed of around 145 mph and was weaving around multiple vehicles during the chase. Knipp terminated the pursuit after his rear tire deflated.
Though the driver in that pursuit was not identified at the time, prosecutors allege Salgado's cell phone was tracked traveling along the route of the pursuit.
Salgado remains jailed without bail and is due back in court next month.
Copyright 2024, City News Service, Inc.
