Rialto family mourns the death of mother and daughter killed in high-speed crash
A grieving family continued to mourn the deaths of a beloved mother and daughter after a driver, going 80-100 mph, rear-ended them in downtown Rialto.
"This could have been prevented, my sister could have went home that day," said Hayley Labrada.
Labrada's sister, 33-year-old Ashley Gilroy and her niece 8-year-old Marlee Maldonado were killed after a driver rear-ended Gilroy's car at a high rate of speed. The driver of the Jeep Cherokee reportedly slammed into the mother and daughter at 80-100 mph — trapping them inside and causing their car to burst into flames.
Officers and good Samaritans tried their best to extinguish the flames but could not save Gilroy and her daughter.
Labrada said her family frantically search for the two when they never returned home Monday night.
"My brother-in-law was actually going up and down the freeways," said Labrada. "My sister was doing the same thing, trying to look for her, checking parking lots."
Eventually, Ashley's husband Rocky got a call from the police informing him that his only child and beloved wife had died.
"This is their only child," said Labrada. "My brother-in-law Rocky is going home to an empty home. And that's the most heartbreaking part. All because someone decided to get behind the wheel when they were drunk and not think twice about what they were doing."
The driver who hit them, 35-year-old Paul Larios, also died on impact. The Rialto Police Department did not comment on if Larios was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. Witnesses reportedly saw beer bottles near his car and there did not appear to be any skid marks on the road indicating that he tried to avoid hitting any of the cars that were stopped at the red light.
"They were so beautiful, so full of life," said Labrada. "They were a duo. That's why I strongly believe God took them both because I don't think my sister could have done life without Marlee and I don't think Marlee could have done it without her either."
Larios also sideswiped a Chevrolet Silverado shortly before crashing into the back of the Gilroy's Kia Sorento. The momentum from the crash threw Gilroy's car into the back of another vehicle and started a chain reaction of collisions involving four additional vehicles. Two additional drivers were transported to local hospitals and are believed to have non-life threatening injuries.
The family pleaded with people to honor Gilroy and Maldonado by slowing down on the road and designating a sober driver.
There is a relevant GoFundMe account searchable online by the keywords "RAM Family Memorial."
