The family of a father and son who were killed in a deadly rollover crash on State Route 67 in Poway is heartbroken because the tragedy took the lives of two of their loved ones, Marcial Rivera Solorio and Emmanuel Rivera Abarca.
They said both were loving, caring, and god-fearing men who loved their families and worked hard.
“We had many plans, I wanted him to be with me the moment I give birth,” Glendy Gomez, Emmanuel’s girlfriend said.
Gomez is trying to find out how to tell the baby child she’s expecting that it’s father, 32-year-old Emmanuel Rivera, was killed in a deadly car crash on Highway 67 in Poway.
Gomez first found about the deadly wreck that killed her boyfriend Emmanuel, and his 59-year-old father, Marcial Rivera, through a post online.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the accident happened Friday afternoon between Poway Road and Scripps Poway Parkway, sparking a small brush fire in the area.
“I felt helpless. I felt my heart racing,” Gomez said.
When Gomez recognized license plate of the truck, she and her boyfriend’s mother rushed to the site of the accident on Highway 67, just north of Iron Mountain Drive, to get more information.
According to sheriff’s investigators, the three-vehicle crash killed a total of five people, including the Riveras.
The impact of the crash was so severe, one vehicle careened into a ravine, sparking a brush fire that was extinguished.
“You hold on to that hope, that hope that they will never leave you,” Gomez said.
Regina Abarca said her husband and son were heading to work, landscaping, when the accident happened.
She also had to bear the tragic news to her youngest daughter who is also expecting and is due next month.
“I miss both my son and my husband,” Regina said.
Regina describes both her husband and son as men who loved their family and worked tirelessly to provide for them.
“They had such love and respect for us and my husband, he was always joyful,” Regina said.
They said although their absence is evident, they will forever treasure their memory and the love they shared with them.
“We were a united family, he had a huge love toward our kids, the photo captures the kind of person he was,” Regina said.
The Sheriff’s Department said it is reviewing video footage, which will be used to determine the cause of the crash.