A 20-year-old man turned himself in to Long Beach Police after it was reported that he made dangerous maneuvers at an intersection and crashed into an SUV killing a 21-year-old woman.
Family and friends have prepared an altar for Jacqueline Zamarippa, a young maquiladora.
According to the police, Zamarippa was on her way home with her boyfriend when she fell victim to reckless driving related to street seizures.
“I don’t know how we’re going to put up with this… It won’t be easy,” said Alyssa Ramos Ochoa, the victim’s mother.
Jacqueline’s grandmother, overcome with emotion, has been clinging to a fifteen-year-old portrait of her eldest granddaughter, saying they don’t know how to bear the pain of losing her, especially in a reckless act of a driver making donuts at a busy intersection.
“It is not right that they go to that. The young man should have been smarter,” Jacqueline’s mother said of the accident that occurred Friday night at Willow and Caspian avenues.
Police said Saúl Alfas was making dangerous maneuvers at the intersection. Jacqueline’s boyfriend, who was driving a Silverado truck, tried to avoid the suspect’s vehicle, but his truck was struck, causing it to crash into a tree, ejecting Jacqueline, who according to police and family, was not wearing a seat belt.
After spending more than 30 years in and out of prison, living a life surrounded by crime and drugs, Joseph Valadez now has a master’s degree in sociology from Cal State Long Beach.
“She was always that person who made time for the people she loves. It doesn’t make sense that she left,” said Ricardo Zamarripa, Jacqueline’s brother.
Ricardo, Jacqueline’s brother, rushed to the scene when he heard about the accident and confirmed to his family that Jacqueline had not survived. Heartbreaking moment for older sibling says she was the glue for the family who are having a hard time coping with the way she lost her life.
“It’s stupid that he was making donuts in the middle of the street,” said Jennifer Zamarripa, Jacqueline’s sister.
“This past weekend, a couple of people’s lives were ruined. One person lost their life, another is going to spend a significant amount of time in prison,” Long Beach police said.
Police added that driver Saúl Alfas turned himself in Sunday after fleeing the scene for the first time, and faces vehicular manslaughter and other charges.
Jacqueline’s brother added that she and her boyfriend had just seen a street shot earlier in the evening, and had no idea that they would be part of the same antics on their way home.
“I don’t have any hate towards the motoring community, I just wish a lot more people were a lot safer,” Ricardo said.
The police do not classify what happened here as a street raid.
Jacqueline’s boyfriend was trying to avoid the van when he was hit, and the family said that although he was physically fine, he is very emotional as the family is planning the funeral service.
