Crash victims had ties to local church
Darleene Barrientos
The parishioners of United Community Church knew something was
terribly wrong when two of their children -- Noemy and Gerardo Tellez
-- were not waiting to be picked up Sunday morning.
Noemy, 8, and Gerardo, 5, were riding with their father, Juan
Tellez, just after 2 a.m. Nov. 5 on the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway
in Granada Hills when a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette approached them from
behind at more than 100 mph. According to police, Juan Tellez tried
to move to the right to allow the Corvette to pass, but the Corvette
moved to the right also, resulting in a fiery crash that left a
quarter-mile of debris across all the westbound lanes of the freeway.
Police said the family, who recently moved to Simi Valley, was
killed on impact.
Timothy Whelan of La Canada Flintridge, who reportedly was driving
the Corvette, was charged Friday with three counts of murder, one
count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, and
one count of driving with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.08%
and causing injury. Whelan was being held without bail Thursday.
With the loss of two of their children, United Community Church
parishioners are trying to raise money to help the remaining family
members cover funeral expenses.
Lonnie Brown, who recently retired from the church’s children and
youth ministry office, said Noemy and Gerardo first came to the
church a year ago as a part of their outreach to children in the Echo
Park area, where the Tellez family used to live. One teacher, Alice
Stangl, was taking the loss particularly hard, Brown said.
“[Alice] was the one who started bringing the children in from
Echo Park. She is taking this really horribly -- she saw them every
day. She’d go over to their house, she’d have impromptu Bible studies
with them,” Brown said. “Although we know they’re in heaven, we’re
taking it very hard.”
Los Angeles County Coroner’s officials have not yet identified the
victims of the crash, but have confirmed that they received the
dental records of Juan Tellez.
A viewing will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Groman Mortuary,
830 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. A memorial service will be held
a week later, on Nov. 22, at United Community Church, 333 E. Colorado
St. The service will begin at 2 p.m.
Donations can be sent to the Tellez family at 1916 Vestal Ave.,
Los Angeles, CA 90026, attention Teresa Tellez. Donations can also be
sent to the mortuary.