Two men killed after unlicensed drunk driver slams into them
Two men died after an unlicensed drunk driver slammed into them outside of their Orange apartment complex.
"These are the most lovely, kind people," neighbor Kathryn Jenkins said as she cried.
The deadly collision happened on Thanksgiving outside 51-year-old Jose Huerta's home on Shattuck Place. He and his colleague 59-year-old Manuel Ortiz were working on a broken-down car when Umberto Lopez Flores allegedly crashed into them. The two men died at the scene.
A neighbor said Huerta's wife ran out of their apartment and found her husband's body in the street.
An empty beer can rested underneath Flores' gold F-250 in a photo shared by the Orange Police Department. He tried to run away from the crash site as neighbors chased the accused drunk driver down. Flores evaded them until officers arrived. They found him hiding around the corner.
Someone shared a cellphone picture with police which helped them locate Flores about an hour after the deadly crash.
In addition to his wife, Huerta leaves behind two teenage daughters.
"He'd get up on the weekends and sing to his wife," Jenkins said. "They'd take walks on our street. Now, he won't be seen again because someone chose to drink and drive."
