5 members of SoCal family killed by alleged drunken driver ID’d

Five members of a Southern California family who died in a Nevada accident over the weekend were identified Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

The five: 41-year-old Genaro Fernandez of Norwalk, 49-year-old Raudel Fernandez-Avila and 53-year-old Belen Fernandez of Lynwood, and 13-year-old Angela Sandoval and 45-year-old Leonardo Fernandez-Avila of Los Angeles, according to the AP.

A spokesperson for the Clark County coroner’s office told the AP that the relationship among the family members was still unknown, but the Nevada Highway Patrol said Saturday it included a man, his teenage daughter, and her aunt and two uncles.

The accident occurred on Interstate 15 in southeastern Nevada early Saturday morning before 3 a.m. when a teenager, who was also reportedly from Southern California and was later charged with driving under the influence, crashed his Dodge Durango into the back of the family’s Chevy Astro van.

There were seven people in the van at the time, which spun around and overturned. The two who survived were taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to Loy Hixson of the NHP.

Hixson said Jean Soriano, 18, was driving the Durango and was arrested after he was treated and released from a hospital. A 23-year-old passenger in the Durango also survived.

Hixson said authorities “had every reason to believe [Soriano] was under the influence while operating the vehicle.� One reason was that beer bottles were found in his vehicle, Hixson said.

According to Channel 3 in Las Vegas, Soriano faces a total of nine charges and is being held at the Clark County detention center. He will be arraigned on Monday.

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