No Prosecution of Van Driver in Fatal Crash

A decision by Orange County authorities not to prosecute a Christian pastor who drove a modified church van involved in a fatal crash in September drew mixed reactions Wednesday from survivors of the eight passengers who were killed.

Parishioners had spilled from the van, whose seats were not bolted to the floor and lacked seat belts, when a pickup truck crashed into the church vehicle after allegedly running a red light.

The crash, which killed eight people and injured 11, was described as Orange County’s worst traffic accident. All the victims were members of the Rev. Octavio Valentin’s 60-member Iglesia de Dios.

Although Valentin will be cited for violating several state vehicle equipment and licensing requirements, he will not be held legally responsible for the deaths, said Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Bruce Patterson.

The pastor had been under investigation for vehicular manslaughter since the Sept. 20 crash, Patterson said. Prosecutors decided they could not prove that the van’s lack of seat belts and unbolted seats caused the parishioners’ deaths, he said.

Carlos Brahona, grandfather of Iris Roman, 13, who died in the crash, said charging Valentin for the van’s safety defects “wouldn’t help (his) granddaughter” and would only stir up “bad” emotions.

But Iris’ mother, Yanira Enriquez, believes the pastor should be held responsible, Brahona said.

“She still feels very emotional about it,” Brahona said.

Abel Mendez, who lost a daughter, a sister and three nephews in the crash, said he believes prosecuting the van’s driver would prove futile.

“I believe that the driver responsible was the man who struck the church van in a pickup. I believe he was traveling too fast. He’s the one responsible,” Mendez said.

The pickup’s driver, Fernando Hernandez Flores, 23, of Riverside, who fled the crash scene on foot, remains a fugitive and is being sought to face felony charges of hit-and-run. Authorities believe he may have fled to Mexico.