Police had no new information Friday regarding an automobile
accident that left two men dead at Sixth and Alexander streets
early Thursday. Meanwhile, family members reflected on their loved
ones as they geared up for fundraising events this weekend to help
pay for funeral services.
Police had no new information Friday regarding an automobile accident that left two men dead at Sixth and Alexander streets early Thursday.
Meanwhile, family members reflected on their loved ones as they geared up for fundraising events this weekend to help pay for funeral services.
Robert Aguirre, 28, of Gilroy, and Joel Zabala, 30, of San Martin, both died at the scene of a car wreck, in which the Plymouth they were in rolled over after striking a power pole and a tree, according to police and witnesses.
David Torres, 18, the alleged driver, was arrested 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.
Police records also indicate that an 18-year-old David Torres was arrested at 12:36 a.m. Jan. 1 on the 8500 block of Wren Avenue for public intoxication. Aguirre also had some brushes with the law, according to police reports. In March 2008, he was arrested on a warrant for driving under the influence. He was arrested again in October 2008 for driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence.
Still, friends and family say both Aguirre and Zabala were devoted family men. Aguirre had seven children, including a daughter who is now deceased, according to friend Vinessa Lira, who is the mother to one of his daughters.
Zabala, who was raised in Gilroy, had five children, two brothers, two sisters, and other half-brothers and -sisters, according to his aunt, Delilah Martinez.
Both men also were close to their extended family members, friends and family said this week.
Zabala, who was known by friends and family as “Joey,” had known Aguirre for many years, and their families had been close, Martinez said.
Although several of Zabala’s family members attended a vigil on Thursday in honor of the two accident victims, many of them left early after a prayer on behalf of the two men, she said.
“Everyone was just exhausted from the news and the mourning and stuff,” Martinez said.
She described her nephew as a “teddy bear” who was greatly missed by family members.
“He was always the life of the party,” she said. “He was always the joker, and he put a smile on everyone’s face even when everyone was mad.”
Zabala’s mother is still trying to raise a money for funeral costs, Martinez said.
Friends and family will host a car wash and sell dinner plates to raise money for the Zabala family starting at 9 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the former Employment Development Department office at 190 Leavesley Road. The event should last throughout the afternoon, Martinez said.
Meanwhile, Dutchman’s Pizza, 6940 Chestnut St., will hold a charity car wash for Aguirre’s family from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and will donate 10 percent of the day’s proceeds to the family, owner Jim Shuster said.
In addition, an account has been set up for Aguirre at South Valley National Bank, 8000 Santa Teresa Blvd., under account no. 010314451.
em>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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