Suspect Named in 8-Death Crash : Tragedy: The man may have fled to Mexico. He is identified by owner of pickup as a family friend. Special CHP team takes over Santa Ana investigation.

A 23-year-old Riverside man was identified Wednesday as the suspected driver of a pickup truck that triggered the deadliest traffic accident in Orange County history.

But police believe that the man, Fernando Hernandez Flores, might have fled to Mexico.

At a 9 p.m. press conference, police announced that they were seeking Flores, a friend of the owner of the pickup truck who reportedly fled on foot after the accident Sunday evening at Flower Street and Civic Center Drive in which eight people died and 11 others were injured. All of the dead and most of the injured were passengers in a church van that was heading for Sunday evening services.

Police spokesman Lt. Bob Helton said investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Flores on suspicion of felony hit and run after interviewing the truck’s owner, David Mendoza, on Wednesday evening.

Mendoza told police that Flores is a longtime family friend who on Sunday was helping the Mendozas move to their new home in Santa Ana, Helton said.

About 3 p.m. Sunday, Mendoza loaned Flores his 1984 Chevrolet pickup truck to go on an errand. At about 6:30 p.m., Mendoza was contacted by Flores’ cousin who said that the Riverside man was involved in a serious traffic accident.

According to Helton, Mendoza went to the cousin’s house, where Flores was hiding.

Mendoza told investigators that he saw a bump on Flores’ forehead, adding that Flores told him that he was sorry for the accident and that he would try to make it up to him “whether he was in Mexico or not.”

Police had been looking for Flores since Sunday after finding a photograph of him in the pickup. In that photo, he is standing next to the same pickup truck in front of a Chili’s restaurant. Helton said detectives showed the picture to employees of many Chili’s restaurants across Southern California before determining that he worked at a Chili’s in Riverside.

On Wednesday, detectives went to Flores’ home, but he was not there. Flores has relatives in Mexico, but investigators are concentrating their search in the Riverside area, Helton said.

Police said Mendoza has not been cited in the case because “he was just so fearful that he felt the thing to do was to report the truck stolen,” Helton said.

Meanwhile, about 20 ministers gathered Wednesday for an emotional meeting with the pastor who was at the wheel of the church van involved in the crash.

The Christian leaders listened raptly as the Rev. Octavio Valentin described in Spanish how a pickup truck rammed the church van packed with up to 18 parishioners as he drove to a service.

Three people remained hospitalized. Mainor Mendez, 11, of Garden Grove was in serious condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange. Mirtala Castro Lopez, 50, of Santa Ana and Glenda Aguirre, 21, of Westminster were both in stable condition at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

No citations have been filed against Valentin, who was driving the van when it was hit and spun around, ejecting most of the passengers. But state Department of Motor Vehicle records show that Valentin has been in three accidents in the past 3 1/2 years, was cited in December 1989 for failing to stop at a red light and does not have the required special license to drive more than 10 people in a van.

A service is set for 6 p.m. Sunday at Santa Ana’s First United Methodist Church, 609 Spurgeon St., Santa Ana, where Valentin’s congregation, the non-sectarian Church of God (Iglesia de Dios), meets regularly. The group began planning another memorial service, tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at Templo Calvario, 2609 W. 5th St., in Santa Ana.

“We need something that, for the entire community, could be a show of love,” said the Rev. Pedro R. Ortiz, whose teen-age daughter was a schoolmate of one of the victims of the crash.

Already, more than $5,000 in donations for the victims’ families have flooded the Methodist church, some coming from as far away as Miami. Another church, Ministerio Alto Poder (High Power Ministry), 14451 Franklin Ave., Tustin, has established a victims’ trust fund, the Rev. John Gonzales said. Checks should be made to “La Puerta Es Cristo-Victims’ Trust Fund.”

Meanwhile, a group of local businesses and individuals, organized by lawyer Greg Lindstrom of Laguna Beach, has offered to pay for all funeral arrangements. Flowers have been arranged by various good Samaritans.

Lindstrom, whose children’s nanny is a member of Iglesia de Dios, said he had collected $7,500, with promises from several businesses to cover the costs once they are totaled. “I called more than 20 people (Tuesday) and I didn’t have a single person say no,” he said. Julio Guzman, 27, will be buried Saturday at 1 p.m. in Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora. Sonia Castro, 30, will be buried in her native Guatemala, as she had requested while alive.

The others--Rutilia Oliva, 31, her unborn fetus, her children, Carlos, 4, and Daniel, 2, and her niece, 16-year-old Ericka Mendez; and 13-year-old Iris Roman--will be buried in Rose Hills cemetery in Whittier. Arrangements are not yet complete for their funerals.

Valentin appeared overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for his congregation. “ Muchas gracias ,” he told the assembled ministers Wednesday. “I give a thank you for the demonstrations of love. God bless everyone. Thank you.”

Meanwhile, a special CHP team began tearing down the van in an effort to determine whether modifications violated safety regulations. After the accident, police said the number of casualties probably was increased because the van lacked safety belts and the seats were not bolted to the floor.

In an interview after the meeting, Valentin reiterated that the van was up to state standards. He has insisted that the seats were bolted down but must have been dislodged by the brutal force of the accident. “The van was in perfect condition,” he told the assembled ministers Wednesday.

The signal lights at the intersection appear to have been in good working order at the time of the accident, city officials said.

Times staff writers Jodi Wilgoren and Davan Maharaj contributed to this story.