THREE Filipino senior men were killed Wednesday, April 22, in a fiery head-on crash when a wrong-way driver on the westbound side of Highway 50 collided into their truck.
The three men who died in the crash were identified as Nick Bacareza, 74, Pepito Rivera, 81, and Tony Kilayko, 76, all from Stockton, Calif.
The accident occurred just before 2:30 a.m. near Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento, according to the California Highway Patrol, when the driver of a Toyota Prius collided into the Ford F-150 pickup truck carrying the Filipino men.
The driver of the Prius was identified by the Sacramento County Coroner as 19-year-old Elizabet Torreszela from Carmichael.
All four were pronounced dead on the scene.
Witnesses reported that Torreszela was driving east in the fast lane on the westbound Highway 50. She drove in the wrong direction for more than five miles before crashing into the Ford truck, according to the California Highway Patrol. She reportedly drove up the Harbor Boulevard off-ramp and was swerving for five miles on the road before she crashed into the truck.
California Highway Patrol said the truck burst into flames after careening out of its lane and crashing into a third car involved in the incident.
CBS Sacramento reported that the driver of the third car, a Hyndai Sonata, suffered minor injuries. The driver said he could not see anything before he crashed into the vehicles, according to KCRA 3.
Grace Bacareza told KCRA 3 that one of the men killed in the accident, Nick Bacareza, was her husband. She said Bacareza was with his two friends, Tony and Pete, and went out Tuesday evening, April 21, to a casino.
The Bacareza family laid out candles and a cross on their driveway for visitors who would offer prayers for Bacareza, FOX reported.
“Every time I hear about the accident it’s just going through my head like how it happened and it’s just replaying like constantly,” said Beau Bacareza, son of Bacareza.
“I’m still in shock right now. Like I was kind of thinking I was going to wake up from a dream.”
Bacareza is survived by his wife and seven kids.
Monette Gallarde, who knew Kilayko for about 30 years, said the Filipino community in Stockton is devastated by the tragedy, according to ABS-CBN News.
“When I found out about the accident, it was really very shocking for all of us, for myself too. I was very sad. You don’t own your life. The next day, you’re gone. One day, you’re talking with each other. The next day, you’re gone forever. So it’s very, very sad,” she said.
The Sacramento Coroner’s Office will determine whether or not alcohol, or any other substance, was a factor in the incident.
(With reports from ABS-CBN News, CBS, FOX, Rappler.com and The Sacramento Bee)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend April 25-28, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
