Immigrant charged in crash was deported 5 times, family says victim’s death ‘could have been prevented’

March 07--It was a day that began like so many others. But in the end, it was a day that would forever change the lives of the Duran family of Arleta.

On the afternoon of Feb. 19, Sandra Duran, 42 -- a mother, daughter and sister -- was killed in a violent car crash on a rain-slicked road in North Hills.

Los Angeles police say Estuardo Alvarado, the man who allegedly caused the collision, was speeding down Sepulveda Boulevard as he tried to flee the scene of another crash and slammed into a car being driven by Duran, who died at the scene.

Alvarado was arrested moments after the crash.

The 45-year-old Lakeview Terrace resident is an undocumented immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who was deported five times before the collision, according to federal authorities and court records.

He has been charged with five felony counts in connection with the Feb. 19 collision, including murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

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The day of the crash, Duran's family members said their cellphones lit up as word of the accident spread. One relative, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Lisa Morales, a former Marine who was on maternity leave taking care of her 2-month-old son, got the call while heading home from lunch and rushed to the accident scene.

She works in the LAPD's Mission Division, the same division where the collision occurred.

"That was the division my sister was killed in. I was extremely shocked," Morales, 36, said by phone Monday as she recalled the events of that day. "I just wanted to go there. When I showed up, my partners knew it was my sister. It was very traumatic."

For Morales, the circumstances surrounding the crash are unsettling.

"It's a great concern because this could have been prevented," she said, referring to undocumented immigrants who slip back into the country and commit crimes. "It's sad and it's unfortunate. It's going to happen not just to my family but to other families."

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Alvarado pleaded not guilty to each of the five charges during his arraignment on Feb. 22, Sarah Ardalani, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Jackie Lacey, said in an email.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say Alvarado, a Mexican national, has been on their radar for years.

"Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Mr. Alvarado has been removed to Mexico five times since 1998, most recently in 2011," ICE spokesperson Virginia Kice said in a statement.

Alvarado is being held at the Men's Central Jail on $2.23 million bail in connection with the fatal collision, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department records.

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He was allegedly driving a 1999 Dodge Durango on Sepulveda Boulevard between Lassen and Plummer streets, when he tried to pass other cars and struck a vehicle parked at the curb, according to Detective William Bustos of the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division.

Police say he then hit a Toyota Camry while attempting to leave the scene of the initial crash.

"He stops. But then flees from the scene at a high rate of speed going south, ran a red light at Sepulveda and Plummer and T-bones into the driver's side of a 2004 Toyota Camry," Bustos explained.

Two LAPD officers in the area and witnesses rushed to help the people in the car, but they were unable to save the driver, Sandra Duran.

Her cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of operations and investigations for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Duran's son, Christian Galban, 18, and his girlfriend, Stephanie Garcia, were also in the car. Galban was treated at a hospital and released and Garcia spent about a week in the hospital being treated for internal injuries, family members said.

Alvarado was also injured and taken to a hospital for treatment.

He is being represented by attorney Bart Seemen of the Los Angeles County public defender's office, who declined to comment on the case.

It wasn't Alvarado's first brush with the law.

Since 1990 he has been charged with more than 20 felonies and misdemeanors, court records obtained by the Southern California News Group show.

The charges in those cases include being a felon in possession of a weapon, possession of marijuana for sale, the sale or transport of a controlled substance and driving under the influence.

Alvarado was convicted or pleaded guilty to several charges over the years, including driving under the influence, possession of marijuana for sale and misdemeanor hit-and-run, court documents show.

The remaining cases were either dismissed, not prosecuted or the conclusions were unclear.

It was also unclear how much time he has spent in jail for the convictions.

Alvarado is due back at the San Fernando Courthouse for this latest case on March 14, according to the DA's office.

Federal officials also want to take action against him.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer against Mr. Alvarado seeking to take him into custody if and when he is released by local authorities in order to pursue follow-up enforcement action," Kice said.

The fatal crash comes as President Donald Trump has announced plans to create an office within the Department of Homeland Security to support victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. In a speech to Congress on Feb. 28, he said, "The office is called VOICE -- Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement. We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media and silenced by special interests."

As the North Hills case works its way through the court system, the Duran family says the tragedy has brought them closer together.

Eldest sister Juanita Hernandez, 44, was vacationing with her family in Long Beach when they got word of the accident. Grief-stricken, they began heading back to the Valley to help comfort their parents, Santos and Carmen.

"We were very close," she said. "Now with her passing, it's going to make us closer."

Sandra Duran, who did data analysis for a health care company, was a happy person, she said.

Hernandez will forever remember her sister's smile.

"She was always smiling," she said. "We couldn't find pictures of her when she was not smiling."

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