After a fatal May road rage accident on Highway 156, initial
reports suggested a suspect in the incident had fled to Mexico. But
police now believe he is hiding out in the area, and are asking
information about his whereabouts to contact the California Highway
Patrol.
San Juan Bautista – After a fatal May road rage accident on Highway 156, initial reports suggested a suspect in the incident had fled to Mexico. But police now believe he is hiding out in the area, and are asking information about his whereabouts to contact the California Highway Patrol.
Hector Vivanco, the owner of a Toyota Celica that rammed a car on Highway 156 causing one fatality and several injuries, is believed to be hiding in Salinas or the surrounding areas, CHP Officer Chris Armstrong said.
Despite an intense investigation, Armstrong said police have hit a dead end. Meanwhile, Vivanco’s acquaintances and family members have been uncooperative.
“This is one of our big ones,” Armstrong said. “I would think eventually they’ll find him.”
District Attorney John Sarsfield says the driver of the car could face a murder charge. Vivanco hasn’t been positively identified as the driver.
Nineteen-year-old Paulino Jimenez Elizarraras’ dreams of making enough money as a field worker to one day buy a house for his mother in Mexico was cut short when the driver of the Toyota Celica rammed the Jeep Cherokee in which he was a passenger.
Elizarraras’ uncle Jose Jimenez of Sacramento holds out hope that a good Samaritan will lead police to Vivanco’s whereabouts. But he feels no anger for the person who caused his nephew’s untimely death.
“I’ve been praying for somebody to come forward. If they know something let the police know and help them finish this,” Jimenez said. “I don’t have to feel anger toward them. I know one day they’re going to pay. It might not be soon but they will pay. That’s the hope I have and I’m pretty sure that will happen.”
Jimenez also said Elizarraras’ friend, 20-year-old Manuel Vuella, who was driving the Jeep in which Elizarraras was riding, is recovering from extensive injuries. Jimenez said Vuella’s emotional recovery isn’t progressing at the same speed as his physical recuperation.
“He’s not the same person,” Jimenez said. “He’s suffering.”
Police believe Vuella may have fueled the driver of the Celica’s anger when he cut in front of him on Highway 101, according to the CHP. Police believe Vuella pushed his way into traffic and in front of the Celica from the Red Barn, and the two cars began swerving back and forth trying to run each other off the road. Witnesses told police the Celica began ramming the Jeep before both cars took the Highway 156 exit.
After taking the exit, police believe the Celica began swerving into the center divide. A passenger in the Celica, who police have not identified, brandished a baseball bat out the window like he was trying to hit someone in the other car, according to police. The Celica then rammed the Jeep, spinning it into oncoming traffic where it was broadsided by a Ford Explorer driven by San Benito County resident Ernest Andrade.
Elizarraras, who received the brunt of the impact, died at the scene and four others were severely injured.
Jimenez said his nephew’s body was sent to Mexico, where funeral services were conducted in June. Although his family is trying to put the incident behind them, the senselessness of the accident and the waiting game they’re all playing is frustrating, Jimenez said.
“There is nothing we can do to bring my nephew back,” he said. “What they did was for nothing. They didn’t have any excuse to do what they did, and if they did it once, they are able to do it again.”
Anyone with information about the accident or Hector Vivanco’s whereabouts is asked to contact the California Highway Patrol at (408) 848-2324.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
