The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office has decided to
charge 16-year-old Omar De La Cruz as a juvenile, said District
Attorney John Sarsfield.
Sarsfield would not comment on the specific charges, stating
that information pertinent to juvenile cases are confidential.
De La Cruz was driving the car that crashed at the intersection
of Santa Ana Valley and Fairview roads Saturday night, resulting in
the deaths of 18-year-olds Paul
”
P.J.
”
Galvan and Matthew Lopez.
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office has decided to charge 16-year-old Omar De La Cruz as a juvenile, said District Attorney John Sarsfield.
Sarsfield would not comment on the specific charges, stating that information pertinent to juvenile cases are confidential.
De La Cruz was driving the car that crashed at the intersection of Santa Ana Valley and Fairview roads Saturday night, resulting in the deaths of 18-year-olds Paul “P.J.” Galvan and Matthew Lopez.
The official cause of death for the Hollister teens is massive blunt force trauma, according to Det. Sgt. Wes Walker of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department.
There is a suspicion that alcohol was involved due to the odor present at the scene and alcohol found in the vehicle, Walker said.
They are not making any assumptions as to who was drinking, he said.
De La Cruz was also driving illegally because he didn’t have an official California driver license, said California Highway Patrol Officer Terry Mayes.
“He had a permit, but no one of legal age was in the car with him,” Mayes said.
The accident occurred around 11 p.m. on Santa Ana Valley Road, when the car failed to stop at a stop sign at Fairview Road. The car collided with the ditch embankment head-on, went airborne for about 200 feet, hit the ground, overturned and slid on the roof before careening down to Santa Ana Creek, according to a CHP report.
The speeding car was traveling at 110 mph, as one of the passengers observed before the accident occurred, Mayes said.
The CHP is still conducting an investigation into the logistics of the accident, said Officer Brad Voyles.
Because there are no skid marks on the road where the accident occurred, it seems that the brakes were not applied, Voyles said.
“It’s still under investigation as far as conversation inside the car,” he said.
There may not be a definitive explanation as to why the brakes weren’t applied and the tragic accident occurred, Voyles said.
“Sometimes when we drink our judgment is impaired,” he said. “Combine inexperience with alcohol, and it doesn’t make a good combination.”
As the Ford Taurus sped through the stop sign on Santa Ana Valley Road, it barely missed a Chevy Tahoe driving southbound on Fairview Road by a second or two, Voyles said.
“There could have been eight fatalities very easily,” he said.
De La Cruz is being held at San Benito County Juvenile Hall, said his attorney Tom Worthington.
He suffered major injuries from the crash, with a severe rib cage injury, a very large bruise from the top of his head along the side of his face to his jaw and other contusions and abrasions, his attorney said.
His physical injuries coincide with his emotional distress, Worthington said.
“It’s going to be our recommendation that he stay in juvenile court,” Worthington said. “I certainly think there is every reason for a boy like this, who has a good family and has not been in any trouble before, to have the benefit of juvenile court so he can receive rehabilitation. That’s what juvenile court is all about.”
