Posted on 10/10/2007 7:55:56 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
El Monte man lost his wife and two children in a crash that may be linked to other cars' illegal racing.
-Snip-
Groce's wife, Dora Groce, 41; his son, Robert, 8; and his daughter, Catherine, 4, were killed as Dora Groce pulled the family's Nissan Altima out of the Brookside Mobile Country Club onto Elliott Avenue about 5:40 p.m. The mobile home park is in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, about 14 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
-Snip-
Police said the car was broadsided at Elliott and Parkway Drive, an intersection with stop signs on every corner.
"It was a fierce crash," said El Monte Police Det. Ralph Batres. "The explosion that resulted was immense."
Dora Groce's sedan was pushed about 50 feet and burst into flames, rendering it unrecognizable. She appears to have died on impact, but authorities fear the children died in the fire. Several other cars were struck, -Snip- five other people were injured.
El Monte police on Tuesday identified the racers as Robert Canizalez, 19, and Martin Morones, 21.
Canizalez, allegedly the driver of the red convertible Ford Mustang -Snip- was charged Tuesday with three counts of murder and was being held in lieu of $3-million bail.
Morones was still being sought Tuesday night. He was charged in absentia with three counts of murder and one felony count of hit-and-run, Batres said. His Honda was found about a block from the accident scene.
"It's the worst day of your life -- times three," Stephen Groce said. "These guys took my life away from me just because they wanted to act stupid."
-Snip-
They were gone: Robert, the prankster. Curly-haired Catherine, a daddy's girl. And Dora, the woman he was so sure about he married her seven weeks after they met.
jp.renaud@latimes.com
tami.abdollah@latimes.com
scott.gold@latimes.com
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
"authorities fear the children died in the fire"
But it was fun for the perps...
"I'm a 44-year-old guy," he said. "You've got an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old daughter . . . . " His voice trailed off. "You don't have a lot else to look forward to. They become your life."
PING
And here on FR, you’ll see plenty of posters ranting against efforts to deal with drag racing effectively, such as seizing the cars from the perps. I was appalled the last time I saw a thread on that topic.
I’m crying again this morning.
This father can endure one more blast from life. Bush can intervene and claim some world court is offended by the death penalty these guys deserve and let them go.
Carolyn
Hang them if they’re illegal. Hang them anyway if they’re not.
The question of citizenship/legal residency isn’t addressed in what was posted.
I heard Laura this AM mention this. This needs to end and end now.
I wonder if this street racing is part of the gang culture. Here’s another one! This time 3 innocent immigrants are victims.
RESEDA, Calif. (AP) - Street racing is thought to be behind another serious accident in the L.A. area.
Police say a mother and her two children are in critical condition today after a vehicle involved in a race crashed into their park car yesterday afternoon in Reseda.
LAPD Officer Jason Lee says the drivers of a black Nissan and a red Camaro were racing when the Nissan “lost control and plowed into a parked vehicle.”
He says the mother and her two children were caught between two parked cars that came together when the Nissan plowed into the rear of 1 of them. All three victims are said to be natives of India.
Two men are in custody today in connection with the crash.
The accident came a day after another woman and her two children died in El Monte when their vehicle was hit by a car also thought to have been involved in an illegal street race.
http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=7193590
Yes here’s the LA Times article...
I think the baby died....
Prayres sent
Prayer Ping
“This needs to end and end now.”
Won’t ever happen with this crop of politicians.
Are you always the jerk? Or do you just play one on FreeRepublic?
This is an area of So. Calif. that has been pretty much Mexican forever.
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