3 Men Die in Crashes Over Holiday Weekend

Three people--two of them brothers--were killed in two traffic accidents over the Christmas holiday weekend.

Alleged drunk driving claimed the lives of the brothers, who died Christmas Eve morning when their pickup truck was hit from behind and forced into oncoming traffic lanes on California 126.

Humberto Preciado, 45, of Fillmore and Jesus Preciado, 53, of Mexico were westbound about 9 a.m. when another driver struck the rear of their pickup as they changed lanes near Hallock Drive, authorities said.

Humberto Preciado lost control of his vehicle and it traveled into the eastbound lanes. The truck was hit by a Chevrolet Suburban, which went off the road and into an agricultural field.

California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Moriarty said the impact of the collision tore the bed and a camper shell off the pickup. The brothers were pronounced dead at the scene.

Maurilio Garcia, 22, the driver whose car rear-ended the truck, allegedly fled on foot, Moriarty said.

A bloodhound tracked Garcia’s scent to a spot on the freeway where he likely was picked up by a passing motorist, Moriarty said.

Two male passengers in Garcia’s Mercury Cougar, who suffered minor injuries, directed authorities to Garcia’s home in Oxnard, where he was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence, Moriarty said.

Five family members from Santa Barbara who were traveling in the Suburban suffered minor to moderate injuries.

Lupe Preciado of Santa Paula, a niece of the two victims, said her uncles, who were musicians, were headed to a Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara where they had been scheduled to perform.

Humberto Preciado, who is survived by one son, Nathan Preciado of Santa Paula, had recently purchased a ranch in Fillmore on which he planned to farm.

Jesus Preciado is survived by a daughter, Liz Preciado of San Diego, and a son, Jesus Preciado of Mexico.

“We had planned to spend Christmas together here at my father’s house,” Lupe Preciado said. “Now, that’s not going to happen.”

The double fatality was the second of the county’s major accidents over the three-day holiday weekend--which runs from 12:01 a.m. Saturday through midnight Monday.

On Saturday, a Santa Paula man was killed when his vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic on Walnut Canyon Road in Moorpark.

Sal Gaeta, 27, was traveling northbound about 5:30 p.m. when he went into the southbound lane and struck a vehicle driven by Rosa Caldera, 26, of Fillmore.

Gaeta was taken to Simi Valley Hospital, where he died of his injuries. Caldera was treated at the same hospital for minor injuries and released.

Authorities said alcohol was not a factor in the Moorpark accident.

The three deaths put holiday fatalities at their highest number since 1998, when three people were killed on county roadways over the Christmas weekend.

In 1996, four people, two of them young sisters, were killed in head-on collisions on California 126 over the holiday weekend.