It was a brief pursuit that will have a lasting impact.
Chelsey Cigueroa carried a single red rose and two balloons to the corner of Foothill Blvd. and A Street in Hayward Wednesday. She says her 17-year-old boyfriend was one of the two people killed in a horrific crash shortly after midnight Tuesday.
"It's been extremely hard, and especially knowing the type of person he was and how much he enjoyed his family," she told ABC7 News.
Alameda County sheriff's deputies say five people were in the car that plowed under a Safeway big rig. Deputies initially tried to pull the driver over after he went through a stop sign but he took off, resulting in a pursuit deputies say lasted less than one minute and included running one red light before the driver crashed.
Two young men in the car were killed. Two young women are now at Eden Medical Center with serious injuries. The 22-year-old driver Leo Olguin was treated for minor injuries and taken into custody.
"We do know that he's a parolee. We do know that there was a gun in the car. What we don't know is why he decided to run from deputies," explained Sgt J.D. Nelson.
The intersection was blocked most of Wednesday afternoon. A nearby Copymat store did not reopen until 2 p.m. because of the debris and heavy smell of fuel from the crash.
"Mainly it's the odor," said Copymat owner Jim Hill. "We couldn't open the store for fear of customers being overcome by fumes."
The disruption was temporary. Hill and his employees are more concerned with lasting impact of the tragic crash.
"Even the driver leaves unharmed and the rest of the people that were that were with him... You know, it's sad how it had to happen," said Copymat employee Michael Garcia.
Cigueroa says the five people in the car were good friends and even though two people are dead, she does not blame the driver.
"He was still somebody important to them and I know that he will be upset and going through just as much as everybody else," she said. "I can't be mad. I just wish they would have made different choices."
Those choices lead to two deaths and officials say one of the women in the hospital is in critical condition. The various charges Olguin faces may be released tomorrow. The coroner has not yet released the names of the victims.
