5 killed in I-5 crash were heading to Legoland
Personal Injury News
Article Date: 8/5/2009 | Resource: MLG
5 killed in I-5 crash were heading to Legoland
“People who died in SUV fire were a family from San Pedro, relatives say.”
Juan and Belinda Leon Sandoval left home Tuesday planning to spend the day at Legoland with their children and a niece.
Friends and family members said the couple did everything as a family and had received tickets to the theme park from their employer for work well done.
They never arrived at their destination.
The five people killed in Tuesday’s crash on the I-5 in Mission Viejo were identified Wednesday by relatives as Juan Sandoval, 37, and his wife, Belinda Leon Sandoval, 33, said Leticia Sandoval, the dead man’s sister. Also killed were two daughters of the couple, Nayeli Sandoval, 11, and Natalie Sandoval, 4, and a cousin, Andrea Flores, 6, she said.
Juan Sandoval, known as “Tony,” was a manager of a Burger King restaurant in Rolling Hills, his sister said. His wife worked as a cashier at a Burger King in Long Beach, said Pedro Leon, a brother of Belinda.
“Everything they did they always had to do together, said Leticia Sandoval. If she couldnt go, he wouldn’t go. They were always together.”
The family were on their way to the park in Carlsbad, one of their favorite places, at the time of the accident, Leticia Sandoval said.
Pablo Sandoval said his brother Tony was the consummate family man. “He just did everything for them. He did all you could, you know? It was real love.” He said his wife, Belinda, was a woman who “radiated goodness.”
“It’s hard, you know? It’s hard. It’s so unreal,” he said.
For his 24th birthday in January, Pablo Sandoval said he received a card Nayeli had made for him. The card read: “Hope you have a happy birthday.” But Nayeli knew Pablo was a vegetarian, so she added: “No animals were harmed in the making of this card.”
The Orange County coroner’s office hasnt confirmed the identities of the five killed when a Chevrolet Tracker SUV toppled down a steep embankment on the southbound I-5 freeway at La Paz Road and burst into flames.
But Leticia Sandoval said someone from the Sheriffs Department called her father at his job as a room service captain at the Disneyland Hotel on Tuesday to tell them about the crash.
Greg Lopez, a Burger King district manager and family friend, said the Legoland tickets were a reward to Sandoval for good work.
The couple met while working in Burger King in Long Beach. He came home and told his mom “she keeps smiling at me,” his sister said. They were married in 1996, and he was transferred to avoid any conflict, Lopez said.
“She was just a great person. She was always smiling at him,” Leticia Sandoval said.
The living room of their San Pedro house is decorated with poster-size photos of their two daughters: Nayeli as Snow White and Natalie as Sleeping Beauty.
Nayeli was an honor-roll student who loved Miley Cyrus, while Natalie was into princesses and Dora the Explorer, said Leticia Sandoval.
Sheriffs spokesman Jim Amormino on Wednesday said that coroners officials will likely compare dental records to confirm the identities. The coroners office is also inspecting the vehicle for forensic evidence, which may give investigators clues about what might have caused the crash, Amormino said.
The California Highway Patrols Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team is also investigating the accident.
CHP officer Chris Goodwin said the highly trained MAIT investigators assess vehicles involved in major collisions to try to determine what factors, including speed and possible mechanical failure, might have contributed to fatal wrecks.
The MAIT investigators are now crafting a computer-generated drawing of the freeway that combines all available physical evidence, with the intention of recreating Tuesdays crash, Goodwin said.
The CHP said the SUV hit a signpost before it rolled two to three times down a hill that overlooks El Paseo shopping center, slammed through a fence and hit a tree before becoming engulfed in flames.
For more information regarding this article please contact:
Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com