Families Mourn 2 Killed in Crash

The families of the two janitors killed this week in a fiery hit-and-run accident in North Hollywood spent Friday grieving for the two cousins--each of whom leaves a young child and spouse, along with unfulfilled dreams of returning to live in their homeland of Guatemala.

Marcos Pleitez, 35, and his cousin Roselia Noguera, 26, both of the Westlake district of Los Angeles, were driving early Thursday through North Hollywood, where they had just dropped off two co-workers after an evening cleaning shift at the Disney Channel building in Burbank, police said.

Pleitez, the driver, was helping out the two fellow workers, who otherwise would have been stranded because of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus strike, said Maria Mendoza, human resources manager for One Source, the janitorial services company that employed the workers.

“[Pleitez] was being a good Samaritan, actually,” Mendoza said.

At 2:35 a.m., according to police, Pleitez’s car was struck from behind by a speeding car traveling in the same eastbound lane of Vanowen Street in North Hollywood. Pleitez’s badly damaged car burst into flames, trapping him and Noguera inside.

The 25-year-old driver of the other car, Sharrieff Saunders of Van Nuys, and a nearby resident attempted to help Pleitez and Noguera from the car, but the flames drove them back. Saunders, whom police suspect of being high on PCP or another hallucinogen, ran away when neighbors emerged to examine the scene. Police said officers from the LAPD’s North Hollywood Division found him 10 minutes later, walking two blocks away.

“I’m God,” he told the officers, according to Los Angeles Police Department Valley Traffic Division Det. Bob Crane. “I’m going to kill you.”

Saunders, who was badly burned, lunged for an officer’s baton, police said.

After two minutes, he was subdued, arrested on suspicion of murder and later taken to Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, where he remains in serious condition. His bail was set at $1 million.

Relatives of the victims said Friday they were shocked that such a horrible end could come to such good people. “The best the police can do is punish this killer,” said Jose Noguera, 27, Roselia Noguera’s brother.

They also worried about the effect of the loss on the extended family, many of whom live in Los Angeles and hail from Papalhuapa, a small town in eastern Guatemala.

Marcos Pleitez’s daughter, Mildre-Michel, turned 2 years old Friday, but there was no celebration, as the family gathered in the somber apartment of Hugo Pleitez, Marcos’ 31-year-old brother.

“This is really hard,” said a devastated Hugo Pleitez as his niece toddled around the room. “Marcos was more than my brother; he was my friend. He was a great example for everyone. It’s impossible to know what to do now.”

Marcos Pleitez is also survived by his wife, Noelia Pleitez. Roselia Noguera is survived by her husband, Jorge Noguera, 39, and 11-month-old daughter Stephanie.

Both will be buried in Guatemala. Both couples were working in the United States, but were saving to move back to their native country, relatives said.

Family members said Pleitez and his wife were fixing up an old house on a hill in Papalhuapa, and the Nogueras had bought land to build on near the town of Chiquimula, in Guatemala’s central highlands.

“Roselia was going to be my wife until death,” said Jorge Noguera, a worker at a painting company who is now trying to figure out how to raise his daughter.

“Roselia was of the old style, a really beautiful woman. I was so happy with her.”