Accident Victims Identified

Authorities on Sunday released the names of two Anaheim men killed Saturday afternoon when a stolen ambulance sped through a red light and smashed into the side of their car.

Brandon Tran, 20, and Michael Rebaza, 21, the car’s driver, were on their way to a basketball game at a local church, said Pedro Rebaza, Michael’s father, when the 3-ton emergency vehicle rammed their Toyota Tercel, killing them upon impact.

“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said an emotional Pedro Rebaza during a telephone interview from his Anaheim home.

Police said the driver of the stolen ambulance was Rose V. Failla, 52, of Fullerton. Failla suffered minor injuries.

According to authorities, Failla drove off in the vehicle from Anaheim Memorial Medical Center about 5 p.m. Saturday.

At the intersection of La Palma Avenue and Romneya Drive in Anaheim, police said she ran a red light and crashed into Rebaza’s car with such force that the ambulance slid on its side for 50 yards after the impact.

Sunday, memorial candles flickered against the rain, marking the spot where Rebaza and Tran lost their lives.

“He was a good son,” Pedro Rebaza said. “We enjoyed him every minute of his life. We are missing him.”

The family moved from Lima, Peru, 10 years ago, said the elder Rebaza, 53. Michael, the youngest of three children, was a junior at Cal State Fullerton, majoring in business.

An avid basketball player, Michael Rebaza and his friend Tran were on their way to play some pickup ball at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, the Rebaza family’s church, when the crash occurred.

Failla was under observation Sunday in the jail ward of Western Medical Center-Anaheim, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas.

Vargas and hospital officials would not confirm Sunday whether Failla was a patient at Anaheim Memorial, but she was wearing what appeared to be a patient wristband at the time of the crash, police said then.

“The ambulance was parked near the emergency room entrance,” Vargas said. “We don’t know how the keys got into her possession.”

Failla will be arraigned this week, Vargas said.

An Anaheim Memorial spokeswoman said on Sunday that she could not comment because of the police investigation.

She said hospital security guards are on heightened alert.

As a hospital, “you can never control who walks in. You never know what type of condition a patient may present,” spokeswoman Gina Esparza said.

Security staff at other local hospitals said theft of ambulances is rare.

“It is not a high security item,” said Sheila Thomas, a shift supervisor at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. However, “because of this incident I imagine there will be a memo circulating.”