Murder Charges Filed in Crash That Killed 3

Three murder charges have been filed against Oscar Rodriguez, an unlicensed driver suspected of crashing a stolen car into another vehicle as he fled police, killing two sisters and a teenage boy who was a passenger in his car.

The district attorney’s office filed three counts of murder against Rodriguez and an additional felony count of evading arrest causing injury or death, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Kirkwood said Friday.

Police said Rodriguez, 18, of Buena Park was behind the wheel of a stolen Ford Escort that ran a red light during a police pursuit early Tuesday, slamming into a Honda and instantly killing its driver and passenger: sisters Lizett Quinonez, 22, and Claudia Quinonez, 16.

The impact also killed one of Rodriguez’s passengers, Abraham Camarena, 16, of Cerritos. Another passenger, a 17-year-old girl, remains hospitalized.

The Christmas Eve tragedy spurred an outpouring of support from strangers, who are helping the Quinonez family fly the girls’ bodies back to their native Guadalajara, Mexico, for burial. A visitation and memorial rosary service Thursday was paid for by the mortuary, which also donated the sisters’ caskets.

Rodriguez appeared briefly in Municipal Court in Fullerton on Thursday, but his arraignment was postponed until Jan. 17, Kirkwood said. His bail was set at $500,000.