Temple City man mourns wife and daughter after fatal accident while driving under the influence of alcohol

TEMPLE CITY, Calif. (KABC) — Raymundo Argueta was in a car with his wife and daughter earlier this month when they were hit by a driver suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.

“What I saw, I would rather not have seen,” said Argueta through tears. “What I heard, I never want to hear again. And I didn't care what happened to me. As long as they were okay.”

A video from the Citizen app shows the first responders on site. Argueta suffered broken ribs, but his daughter Sabrina and his wife Jennifer did not survive.

“And now she and my daughter are gone, the two most beautiful things I have ever wanted in my entire life, gone,” he said.

We met him at Longden Elementary School in Temple City, where his daughter was just starting 5th grade. He said she loved going to school.

“One of her favorite activities was going to the library. She loved to read,” he said.

She got it from her mother, who had her dream job as a librarian at the University of La Verne. She had just gotten a promotion before the crash.

“My wife finally achieved her goal of becoming what she always wanted to be: director of a library.”

All he has left is his son. They are both trying to figure out what to do next.

The community and the school support them, including Sabrina's fourth-grade teacher from last school year.

“She loved to learn. She loved to share her knowledge with others. I think one of the most important things was that she was so kind and helpful. She was a friend to friends,” said Terry-Ann Flinner, who also taught Sabrina's older brother when he attended the school.

The school administration is planning an event for next week at which some students will remember her.

“I think it's very important for students to go through the healing process when they're able to express their thoughts and their love for someone and say, 'Hey, I care about you, we're going to miss you,'” Flinner said.

Raymundo says it helps him to know the legacy his loved ones left behind.

“It just shows me that they are like that and always will be like that,” he said through tears.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the family with funeral and medical expenses.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office identified the suspect in the crash as 27-year-old Diego Santoscruz. They allege that Santoscruz was under the influence of alcohol when he collided head-on with the car driven by Raymundo near the intersection of Temple City Boulevard and Gidley Street around 1 p.m. on August 17.

Santoscruz is charged with murder, manslaughter and drunk driving. Prosecutors are demanding bail of $4.2 million. Arraignment is scheduled for next month. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.