The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office declined to charge
the alleged driver of a car involved in an allegedly high-speed,
alcohol-fueled, double-fatal accident last week. The office instead
sent the case back to Gilroy police for further investigation
Tuesday, in part because there is doubt as to whether the man in
question was actually driving the car at the time of the accident,
a source close to the investigation said.
The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office declined to charge the alleged driver of a car involved in an allegedly high-speed, alcohol-fueled, double-fatal accident last week. The office instead sent the case back to Gilroy police for further investigation Tuesday, in part because there is doubt as to whether the man in question was actually driving the car at the time of the accident, a source close to the investigation said.
Police arrested David Torres, 18, Thursday morning for allegedly driving a Dodge Plymouth that rolled over and caused the deaths of 30-year-old Joel Zabala of San Martin and 28-year-old Robert Aguirre of Gilroy while under the influence of alcohol. Police said Torres was the only other person in the car and booked him for causing injury while driving under the influence, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and fleeing the scene of an accident after committing vehicular manslaughter.
However, multiple witnesses at the scene said they saw at least two people flee the vehicle, and friends and family repeatedly have claimed that Torres had no license and would never drive a car. Friends and family have also said that there were at least four people in the car at the time of the crash.
A source close to the investigation confirmed this week that there is doubt about whether Torres actually drove the car that careened out of control, snapping a light pole in half and strking a tree at Sixth and Alexander streets Thursday, awakening the neighborhood just before 1 a.m.
Police could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday evening.
District Attorney spokeswoman Amy Cornell said it is not uncommon for the district attorney’s office to forward cases to investigating agencies for further review.
“It happens a lot,” she said.
For instance, sometimes the district attorney’s office wants an agency to conduct more interviews or to create an accident reconstruction, she said.
The sister of one of the deceased crash victims, Emily Reyes, contested the conclusion made by police last week. She said that Torres, who dated her niece, didn’t drive. She was adamant that the charges were false.
“The Gilroy Police Department needs to do the job correctly because the person they’re trying to get for this doesn’t know how to drive a car. He walks everywhere he goes,” she said. “It’s upsetting to my whole family. We already have enough upset. To hear they’re charging him with this is even more upsetting.”
Police said Torres fled the accident scene on foot, but was apprehended soon after. Arrest records show he was arrested at 6:35 a.m. Thursday at Forest and Sixth streets.
Anyone with information related to the investigation can call Investigator Nestor Quinones at 846-0300. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the police department’s anonymous tip line at (800) 782-7463.
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