Jacob Dominguez went to Knott’s Scary Farm and was later picked up at a friend’s house by his mother, Gracie Contreras, and his stepfather, Edward Contreras. While on their way home early Saturday morning, a carjacking suspect fleeing police crashed into their vehicle in West Covina.
Police said the couple was thrown from the vehicle. A relative said all three were ejected.
Edward Contreras, 55, of Covina died at the scene while his 53-year-old wife was pronounced dead at a hospital. Jacob, 13, sustained serious injuries which included a broken leg, a fractured pelvis, facial fractures and a punctured lung, according to his uncle Octavio Medina, who is Gracie Contreras’ brother.
The teen underwent surgery Monday, Medina said.
“He was fighting for his life Saturday and Sunday. He’s in better condition (Monday),” Medina said. But he added that it’s going to be a long recovery for his nephew who is the youngest of Gracie Contreras’ three children.
Authorities have not released the name of the carjacking suspect who was also injured and taken to a hospital. It wasn’t clear if the suspect was still in the hospital. West Covina police officials could not be reached Monday.
Gracie Contreras was a bus driver for Covina-Valley Unified School District where her son attends Sierra Vista Middle School, Superintendent Richard M. Sheehan said.
“She’s a great lady” Sheehan said. “It’s a tragedy. We are doing our best to support the family.”
He said the district is working with the family and with the middle school.
Gracie Contreras also worked as a bus driver for Bonita Unified for seven years, according to Debbie Durante, a dispatcher/trainer in the transportation department at the district. Durante said Gracie Contreras went to Covina-Valley Unified.
Edward Contreras was a welder by trade, Medina said.
His sister and his brother-in-law knew each other as children. Medina said both went to the same junior high and attended Franklin High School. They were friends, then became boyfriend and girlfriend, he added.
They parted but later got together. Medina said the couple married several years ago.
“They loved each other dearly,” Medina said.
The carjacking occurred around 9 p.m. on Friday when a man with a knife took a Jeep Patriot from a driver in Baldwin Park, police said. A Jeep matching the description of the stolen car was seen by West Covina police around 2 a.m. on Saturday near Durness and Sandy Hook streets. The driver wouldn’t stop.
The chase lasted about a mile when the Jeep collided with the vehicle carrying the Contreras family at Glendora and Cameron avenues.
A dusty lot near the intersection is now home to a memorial comprised of candles, flowers, pictures and balloons. West Covina resident Tana Jacot dropped by the memorial on Monday afternoon.
Jacot said she heard the impact of the crash. She said police took two men away.
She estimated there’s been four crashes at the intersection already.
‘It’s nothing really to do with the intersection. Not the city. It’s the drivers,” Jacot said.
She sympathized with the Contreras family. The son lost two people he loves and his life has changed so drastically, she said.
“Why the innocents? And they (the suspect) live. To know they did that. He could have been drinking or on drugs,” Jacot said.
There is a GoFundMe account created to raise money for the couple’s funeral and to pay for the medical bills for Jacob Dominguez.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story had the incorrect surname for the teen victim.
