Pasadena police search for fatal hit-and-run suspects who fled on foot

Police are searching for two suspects involved in a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened late Wednesday night, after they fled the scene of a hit-and-run while driving a stolen vehicle in Pasadena. Lincoln Navigator slammed into a Nissan Versa stopped at a stop sign, killing both people inside.

Investigators say that the crash happened at around 9:15 p.m., when officers were called to the scene of a crash near the intersection of S. Raymond Avenue and Penn Street. 

They arrived to find two people inside of a Nissan Versa that was slammed into by a stolen Lincoln Navigator. The driver, identified as 63-year-old Antonio Mendoza Hernandez, was pronounced dead at the scene and the passenger, 33-year-old woman Veralice Yanira Membreno Orellana, died after being taken to a nearby hospital. 

"They just took two lives in the blink of an eye," said Luz Miranda, a woman who lives near where the crash happened. "Mothers devastated, families crushed close to the holidays. I feel like it isn't fair."

Police believe that the two men inside of the stolen Lincoln are in their 20s as they continue their search. They say that the car was speeding through the area and swerved around another car that was stopped at the intersection's stop sign when they broadsided the Nissan. 

They also crashed into a parked vehicle on the side of the road before running away. 

"I heard the huge thunder when the person that was speeding hit the car," Miranda said. "It sounded horrible. Half of the car was split off, the person in the passenger seat was unresponsive."

As their search continues, investigators will rely on witness accounts and possible footage obtained from nearby surveillance cameras. 

"We do have some witnesses who saw different various portions of the incident," said PPD Lieutenant Anthony Russo. "We're trying to piece together all of those information so we can weave a story out of that."