Man pleads guilty in San Diego car crash that killed two sisters

A driver who fled the scene of an accident in Bay Terraces last year after ramming his pickup truck into a car, killing two sisters in the other vehicle, pleaded guilty Tuesday to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run.

According to police, 55-year-old Tony Garcia drove his Ford F-150 into a Honda Civic that was turning left from Paradise Valley Road onto Munda Road in the early morning hours of May 14, 2023.

After the accident at 2:30 a.m., Elizabeth Higuera Cano, 25, and Jazmin Higuera Cano, 23, were taken to the hospital, where they died, according to prosecutors. The driver of the Civic and another passenger were injured.

Prosecutors allege the driver of the Civic was making a left turn on a green light with a green left arrow when Garcia’s truck ran a red light, crossed the intersection and struck the side of the Civic.

Garcia then fled, prosecutors said.

According to San Diego police, he turned himself in several hours after the accident.

Garcia’s sentencing is scheduled for next month.

Originally published: July 17, 2024 at 8:17 am