Suspect in Fatal Crash May Not Have Fled State

SANTA ANA — Police said they believe a 23-year-old busboy suspected of driving the pickup truck that plowed into a church van and killed eight people may still be in Southern California.

Police Lt. Bob Helton said investigators have a hunch that Fernando Flores did not leave the country for Mexico after Sunday’s crash in downtown Santa Ana.

“There’s no independent evidence at this point that suggests he went to Mexico,” Helton said.

Julio Ramirez, a co-worker at the Chili’s restaurant in Riverside where Flores worked for the last three years, said the suspect called his brother, Oscar, after the accident. Flores said he had been in a terrible accident, was scared and planned to flee to Mexico, Ramirez said.

“He was just scared, you know,” Ramirez said. “I think that he thinks that the best thing to do would be to go to Mexico.”

Other workers at the restaurant said they were surprised when Flores abruptly called in Sunday night and quit, saying he had to return to his native Mexico to help his sick mother. They learned from newscasts Wednesday night that Flores was a suspect in the accident. They said he didn’t drink very much, was reliable, hard-working and friendly.

“They’re pretty much shocked,” said Ray Calderon, the restaurant’s manager. “Their main comment is: ‘Of all people--Fernando!’ They can’t believe it.”

Eleven people were injured in the crash. The accident is under investigation.