The passenger of a Ford Mustang was killed early Friday morning when an erratic driver who briefly led police on a pursuit crashed into the car.
The driver who led police on the brief chase was also killed, according to Lt. Rich Lawhead of the San Bernardino Police Department. He was later identified by San Bernardino police as 30-year-old Rudy Javier Vargas.
Around 5 a.m., a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop the driver of a black Honda near Mt. Vernon Avenue and La Cadena Drive in Colton, Lawhead said. The driver, Vargas, sped away, and the deputy chased for a minute or two before pulling off because the 80 to 100 mph speeds were too dangerous to continue.
Soon after, Lawhead said, the deputy saw a puff of smoke, and upon arrival found the Honda had struck the Mustang at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Rialto avenues.
Vargas and the passenger of the Mustang died on impact, Lawhead said. The driver of the Mustang was taken to a hospital but is expected to survive.
Sarah Sillas spoke to NBC4, saying the victim in the Mustang was her fiancé, Alex Peyro, a father of two children.
"He was full of life. He loved his community," Sillas said through tears. "He'll do anything to get kids out of the neighborhood."
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Family said Peyro, 26, was heading to work with a coworker when they were broadsided by the speeding Honda. The crash was captured on surveillance footage from a nearby business.
The force of the wreck sent both vehicles hurtling through a fence and into the side of a building.
"I thought a truck had crashed into my house," Stephanie Reyes said.
Police said Vargas had a suspended license.
