Family, Friends Vent Emotions on Tragedy : Mourning: Some assail Border Patrol actions that led to five deaths in Temecula, while hoping that the deaths will bring changes.

Even as official protests continued to mount in the wake of the Border Patrol chase that led to five deaths Tuesday in Temecula, other reactions to the tragedy took shape.

Two separate trust funds have been established--one, on behalf of the Davis family, donations to which will be forwarded to the family’s charity in memory of John Davis and his son, Todd, and a second that was begun by a Temecula business to provide financial help for all three families hit by the tragedy.

Friends of two bereaved families said the victims’ relatives blamed the Border Patrol’s high-speed chase for the deaths.

“If the Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department have to abide by rules, the INS and Border Patrol can do it, too,” Elia Esparza, publisher of El Remate, a Spanish-language shopper, and cousin of Gloria Murillo, whose teen-age son and daughter were struck and killed right in front of Temecula Valley High School. “They’re not above it all, just because they’re the federal government. They’ve had no respect for our city, but they must have respect.”

Esparza said Gloria Murillo was heavily sedated after the crash and was at a relative’s home in nearby Murrieta, where she was comforted by relatives from around Southern California.

“Gloria is very religious, and I think that will pull her through this,” Esparza said. “But still, she’s numb.”

Esparza said the two children will probably be buried in the Ontario area next week.

“She (Murillo) wants to know that her children did not die in vain,” Esparza said. “She needs to know that what caused this tragedy won’t ever happen again. Her kids were sacrificed to make a message (about the Border Patrol’s chase policy), and so be it: that something, hopefully, will come out of it.”

A spokesman for the Davis family echoed a similar message on behalf of Linda Davis, wife of John and mother of Todd, saying that, through the tragedy, families may better appreciate the frailty of life and the urgency to reconcile hurting relationships between parents and children.

“Linda hopes this (tragedy) will help bring the community together, kids together and family relationships together,” said family friend Dan Gould.

John Davis was driving his son, Todd, and a friend, Monisa Emilio, to school when a stolen Chevrolet Suburban fleeing the Border Patrol with 12 suspected illegal immigrants ran a red light and rammed into Davis’ car, tearing it in two and killing all three occupants.

Gould said the father and son had recently experienced some estrangement and difficult times, “and they had gotten past that. And that’s what makes this so difficult: they were just getting their lives back together, and now they’re both taken from us.

“So the message that has to get out is this: life ends, and we need to recognize how precious it is. Parents need to understand this toward their children, and children to their parents.”

Gould said that Linda Davis blamed the Border Patrol for the tragedy, but also wondered rhetorically whether she could have prevented the deaths. “Linda said she wondered, had she kissed them goodby that morning, maybe they would have been a minute later in getting to school. . . .”

He said funeral arrangements were pending.

At least two funds were established Wednesday as the community sought ways to pay its respects.

At the request of the Davis family, the Wells Fargo bank branches in Temecula were receiving donations in lieu of flowers. Donations to the John and Todd Davis Memorial Fund will be earmarked for a charity, a bank officer said.

Another fund was set up by Nissan of Temecula, and by Thursday afternoon several thousand dollars already had been collected, said Steve Palmer, the auto dealership’s general manager. The money will be forwarded to the families to help with financial difficulties, he said.

Word of the fund was broadcast on the local Temecula radio station “and we’ve already had well over 100 calls from people who have wanted to somehow help,” Palmer said. Other calls of offerings were coming from organized groups throughout Riverside County, he said.

“We’re a small community, and, for a lot of people, this tragedy has hit awfully close to home,” he said. “We had one lady come in today who didn’t know any of the victims or their families, and, even as she was talking about the crash, she just started crying.

“There’s a lot of concern here, about the fact that the deaths were caused by a high-speed chase through the city of Temecula. Like one man said, there’s something wrong with this picture. It wasn’t like they were after murderers or drug traffickers.”