A California man is facing murder charges after a wrong-way collision that killed his girlfriend and injured their four children was found to have been intentional.
On Aug.12, Cesar Iban Torres (31) drove the wrong way on the southbound Ventura (101) Freeway in Encino with the intent to kill his girlfriend and their four young children, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The white Lincoln Navigator was speeding northbound in a southbound lane near Haskell Avenue when it collided with a tractor-trailer, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Torres’s 26-year-old girlfriend, Aimee Garcia, was killed in the crash. Their four children, ranging in age from one to seven, suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The tractor driver, 56-year-old Jose Garcia Lopez of San Diego, was not seriously injured.
"A family has been torn apart by this tragic collision that leaves four young children without their mother," District Attorney George Gascón said.
Torres allegedly attempted to flee the scene when the police arrived. He is also accused of resisting arrest.
He is charged with one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder and was being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility on a $1 million bond as of Friday, according to jail records. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.
"I'm just broken that my nephews are not going to grow up with their mom, and she put the kids over everything. She was all about the kids," Garcia's brother, Juan Zavala told ABC 7 News.
He said Torres had called him hours before the crash and made bizarre and disturbing comments.
"And he said... God talked to him and he said he has to give his family to God, and I'm like 'no, what are you talking about? Come back'," Zavala said.
Zavala said he tried to locate the family but not to avail. He said one of his nephews, who was in the vehicle, later told him his parents were struggling for control of the steering wheel moments before the crash.
"He said 'mommy saved us,' and that broke my heart," Zavala said.
A GoFundMe page was established to help pay for Garcia's funeral and help support her children.
"It's sad to know my sister is gone," Zavala said. "A beautiful soul taken too soon, but I still have four parts of her. I'm gonna make the best of it, and do the best I can."
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