Couple Killed, 3 Sons Badly Hurt as Van Rams Funeral-Bound Car

A Chino couple were killed and their three sons seriously injured in an automobile crash in Pomona on Wednesday as the family was driving to a grandmother’s funeral, police said.

Killed were Fred Forrest, 38, and his wife, Janet, 40, after a 16-foot van broadsided Forrest’s compact car, slamming into the driver’s door, police said. Their son Shem, 16, was helicoptered to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in extremely critical condition.

The other two boys--Justin, 11, and Daniel, 9--were taken to Pomona Valley Community Hospital with broken bones, officials said.

The Forrests were waiting for a light on the Corona Expressway at its intersection with the Pomona Freeway when the van struck their car, officers said. The van’s driver, Javier Martinez, 31, of Pomona, was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and held in lieu of $5,000 bail.

The younger boys were entangled in the wreckage for about 45 minutes while firefighters worked to free them, said Pomona Fire Capt. Ron Swearingen.

“The bravery of those boys while they sat trapped there touched every firefighter there,” Swearingen said.

Swearingen said the car was loaded with flowers for the funeral. He said the boys have only one close relative left and are in dire need of financial and other help.

Contributions may be sent to Pomona Firefighters Assn., Forrest Fund, 925 E. Lexington St., Pomona 91766. For information, call Inspector Ron Gomez at (714) 620-2205 or (714) 620-2211.