2 Victims Of San Jose Street Race Crash Identified; Police Seek Other Alleged Racers
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- The identities of two men who died Saturday night in a crash after an apparent South San Jose street race were released Sunday afternoon by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office.
Miguel Angel Rodriguez, 33, of San Jose, and Ernesto Chapa, 26, of San Jose were both in a black 2014 Jeep that lost control during an apparent street race and crashed into a tree about 6:25 p.m. Saturday on northbound Snell Avenue just north of Rosenbaum Avenue, police said.
Police continue to search Sunday for the occupants of a gray BMW sedan who stopped, got out of their car to look at the wreckage and then drove away. The Jeep and BMW were believed to have been racing.
The force of the impact ripped the Jeep in two and left it fully engulfed in flames.
Sunday morning, family members of the two men inside the car returned to the scene to see where their loved ones had died.
"I spent some time with the mother of one of the victims. She was completely devastated. She couldn't believe what had happened," said Jose Lorenzo, one of the victims' uncle.
Neighbors in the area say it's not uncommon for drivers to speed along the busy stretch of road, but they also say actual street racing is rare.
"It's tragic. It's lives lost that could have been productive. You don't know what their future is going to be like. And any time you have a loss of life, it's tragic," said Rudy Silva, who lives in the area.
Police are looking for help identifying the BMW and its occupants, and anyone with such information is urged to call SJPD Detective Eliseo Malvido at (408) 277-4654.
This was San Jose's 32nd fatal collision of 2019, and victims numbers 32 and 33, police said.
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