Fatal Crash on Orange County Toll Road Shatters Many Lives

Marco Relis, 16, was driving his best friend home after a night of playing video games. Behind the wheel of his 1998 blue Subaru--a present on his 16th birthday two weeks ago--Relis sped along the northbound lanes of the San Joaquin Hills toll road.

Rogelio Uribe, a 43-year-old restaurant cook, drove on the southbound lanes on his way to the store. Beside him in the car were his 6-year-old son, Cristian, and the child’s mother, Magdelena Ramirez Flores, 28.

It was just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when these two strangers’ lives collided in a grisly crash that left three people dead and marked the worst accident in the short history of Orange County’s toll roads.

The accident has also renewed concerns about rampant speeding on the county’s toll roads, which are known for wide-open lanes and congestion-free travel for those willing to pay the price. In recent months, the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans have moved to increase enforcement along the roads, such as posting additional signs and using airplanes to monitor speeds.

But the efforts did not prevent Wednesday’s accident, which occurred in seconds. Relis lost control of his car, which crossed 88 feet of median and slammed into the vehicle driven by Uribe, CHP authorities said.

When it was over, the two cars came to a stop just under a sign with the posted 65 mph speed limit, the road littered with broken glass and metal debris.

Relis was dead. Flores and her child were dead. Relis’ best friend, David Nguyen, 15, was seriously injured. Uribe was taken to Mission Hills Hospital in serious condition. Both remained hospitalized Thursday.

“Relis was traveling at a high rate of speed and he lost control,” said CHP Officer Joanie Rivas. “He probably didn’t have much time to react.”

For grieving family and friends the deaths seem impossible to understand. Fausto Relis, 42, sobbed Thursday for the son he lost. He cried also for the people his son struck.

“I feel so bad for that family,” he said. “I don’t know what to do. I wish I could bring them back. I feel so sorry for them.”

Family members described 6-year-old Cristian as a smiling, happy boy who was well-liked in his kindergarten class at San Juan Elementary School.

Cristian’s teacher, Laura Gardner, was so distraught over his death that she left school after hearing the news, said Principal Aida Nunez. Nunez described Cristian and his mother, Flores, as fixtures at the school.

Flores volunteered in Cristian’s kindergarten classroom several days a week in addition to working at a fast-food restaurant located blocks from the school.

Uribe’s daughter, Rosario, 14, said she last saw Cristian and her father Wednesday as they were about to run some errands. Cristian was in the back seat--laughing.

“He was always laughing. That’s how I will always remember him,” she said.

She and other family members and co-workers described Uribe as a hard-working man who juggled jobs as a cook in two Mexican restaurants and dreamed of one day opening his own.

Marco’s father said his son’s last words to him were just everyday conversation.

“He said to me, ‘I’m just going to take David home,’ and I said, ‘Come back so we can go to dinner,’ ” said Relis, a lifelong Orange County resident and owner of a computer business.