2 Killed as Driver Runs Red Light : Crash: Father of six and a daughter die when fleeing motorist’s pickup smashes into their car.

A Santa Ana father of six and one of his teen-age daughters were killed Monday when a driver fleeing another crash went through a red light at 50 m.p.h. and broadsided their car, authorities said.

Jose Contreras Jr., 34, died instantly. Christine Contreras, 14, died hours later at UC Irvine Medical Center. A second passenger, Contreras’ niece, sustained a broken arm.

According to sheriff’s deputies, Candido Diaguerro Castrejon, 28, of Anaheim was driving his pickup west on Katella Avenue just after midnight when he had a minor collision with a car at Gilbert Street. He then sped off, with the victim of the first accident in pursuit.

Two blocks later, at Magnolia and Katella avenues, Castrejon sped through a red light and collided with Contreras’ car, said Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Dan Martini.

Castrejon tried to run, but the driver from the first accident quickly caught him, Martini said.

Castrejon was treated for a chin cut and booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. A sheriff’s spokesman said he also had failed a field sobriety test.

Claudia Garcia, the manager of a Taco Bell near the accident, said, “I heard the tires and the impact.” She called 911 and rushed outside, she said.

She saw the surviving girl climb out the back window of the car. Garcia gave her a store jacket to keep warm. The girl said the other people in the car were her uncle and her cousin, Garcia said.

“She was telling me she didn’t know where she was. She was asking me what happened; where was she. She was crying. I tried to not let her go into deeper shock. I tried to keep her warm.”

Reina Contreras, 14, of Garden Grove, was listed in good condition Monday night at UCI Medical Center.

Contreras, a manager at a screw distribution company in Orange, leaves five other children, ranging in age from 2 to 17, and his wife, Antonia.

The couple, who have been together for 20 years, recently moved into a house from a small apartment in Santa Ana, fulfilling their lifelong dream of having more space for their family, Antonia Contreras said.

“He liked to work a lot. He never wanted to stay home even when he was sick. He always wanted to provide a good life for all his children,” she said.

Christine, an eighth-grader at Spurgeon Junior High, was an energetic teen-ager who was “very outgoing, loved to talk to friends on the phone and loved to dance,” her mother said tearfully in the couple’s bedroom, surrounded by her children and other family members. “Her dream was to be a model one day.”

Asif Merchant, 38, co-owner of United Screw of California where Contreras worked, said he was “a warm and hard-working man who was knowledgeable and reliable. He always cared for his family.”

Merchant said his company is contributing money to help the family cover the burial fees.

“I’m most worried for my kids,” Antonia Contreras said. “The children must now live without a dad.”

The family said donations may be sent to Antonia Contreras, 2810 W. Saint Gertrude Place, Santa Ana, Calif. 92704.