Families of Coronado Bridge Crash Victims Remember Loves Ones

Saturday afternoon, a pickup truck landed on a crowd at Chicano Park, killing at least 4 people and injuring several others in the suspected DUI crash

The families of the victims killed when a suspected DUI driver flew 60 feet off the ledge, killing four in a crowded park below, spoke by the memorial site Thursday, remembering the lives lost. 

Jacob Contreras, the nephew of Cruz Elias Contreras, 52, AnnaMarie Contreras, 50, spoke on behalf of the victims Thursday afternoon.

He told the mourners about about Cruz and AnnaMarie. The couple, married for 35 years, were foster parents who opened their homes to many children, sometimes keeping siblings as long as it took to make sure they would not be split up.

Happy Birthday balloons flew above the memorial as Jacob spoke, as Thursday would have been AnnaMarie's birthday. 

The other two victims, Andre Christopher Banks, 49, and Francine Denise Jimenez, 46, dated for almost a year.

Francine was a mother of four and a grandmother of one. 

All four victims were attending the La Raza Ride motorcycle festival when they were killed Saturday. A pick up truck driven by 24-year-old Richard Sepolio flew over the bridge, landing onto the crowded park. 

Sepolio, an active duty service member with the U.S. Navy, stationed in Coronado, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to the fatal crash Wednesday, including four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Family members say they don't want the victims' accomplishments to be overshadowed by such a horrific tragedy.

"It was important to come out here and pay our respects to my aunt and uncle, the ones who passed, and also who they were as people," Jacob said. "I think a lot of that has been lost because the accident was so terrible. I want the world to know that these four people were loved."

Family members say they are so thankful for the support from the community. 

Caltrans is investigating the crash and they expect the investigation to be concluded in three to four weeks. The Caltrans investigation will determine what changes, if any, need to be made to the bridge going forward.

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