VAN NUYS — A fundraising effort is continuing in support of two 22-year-old men and church volunteers whose car was struck by a Mercedes allegedly involved in a street race against a Rolls-Royce in Van Nuys, leaving one of the victims dead and the other critically injured.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a Mercedes-Benz GT63 and Rolls-Royce Cullinan were speeding westbound on Sherman Way at about 9:50 p.m. Friday when the Mercedes collided with the right side of a Honda Civic that was going eastbound and negotiating a left turn into a parking lot at Sherman Circle.
The Rolls veered to the left to avoid striking the Honda and went into oncoming lanes, where it collided with a Chevrolet Traverse that was going eastbound before striking a curb. The motorist in the Rolls exited the car and fled the location in an unknown direction, police said.
The driver in the Mercedes complained of pain and was taken to a hospital, then later arrested on suspicion of reckless driving, police said.
The two occupants of the Honda — identified by family as longtime friends Rangel Vega and Alejandro Luquin — were both taken to hospitals in critical condition. According to a GoFundMe page established to support their families, Vega died Saturday night.
Luquin remains hospitalized and will still need to under additional surgeries, according to the page. Vega and Luquin were both active supporters and volunteers at La Iglesia en el Camino church. The car they were in was struck shortly after they left the church following a young adult service.
Luquin’s sister, Mayra, told ABC7 that he suffered multiple broken bones, and in hopes of aiding his recovery, he hasn’t yet been told that his friend died in the crash.
“It’s hard,” Mayra Luquin told the station. “He keeps asking for him. How is he, how is he? It’s hard. We can’t tell him just yet that he passed away.”
She said her brother suffered two broken legs, a broken arm and broken jaw.
“He’s still in a…
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