2 killed in Santa Ana crash identified; police suspect street racing was involved

SANTA ANA — Authorities Monday released the names of two victims killed during what investigators suspect was a vehicle race in Santa Ana.

Jerman Marquez, 39, and Richard Inda, 29, were both killed in the Saturday night crash near Bear Street and Alton Avenue, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office. Inda was the driver and Marquez a passenger, the Coroner’s Office said.

Police continued looking for a red Mustang that they suspect was racing with the car the victims were in, according to Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

The crash was just after 9:15 p.m. when the car they were in slammed into a tree in the 3200 block of South Bear Street, Bertagna said.

Firefighters were dispatched to the crash scene in the area of Bear Street and Alton Avenue a little before 9:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

“As the two involved vehicles passed through Alton Avenue (while northbound on Bear Street), one of them lost control before striking a tree in the center median of Bear, north Alton,” police said. “The other vehicle involved in this possible street race and its driver are outstanding and unidentified.”

Santa Ana police asked anyone who saw the crash to call them at 714- 245-8200.