A police pursuit in Rialto ended with a young engaged couple dead and a driver facing murder charges, the Rialto Police Department announced in a press release.
The pursuit of a gray 2014 Nissan Maxima began in Colton, but just before 1 a.m., the Maxima entered Rialto city limits, where RPD officers located the car “traveling at a high rate of speed in the area of Linden Ave. and Randall Ave.,” the release said.
During the RPD’s pursuit of the car, the Maxima ran a red light at Cedar and Randall avenues, where it collided with a silver 2019 Nissan Sentra, then crashed into a home on the 1200 block of West Randall Avenue, police said.
No one inside the home was hurt, but the two occupants of the Sentra — 31-year-old Aaron McDonald of Bloomington and 30-year-old Irene Jaramillo of Rialto — were taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where they died as a result of their injuries, police said.
The driver of the Maxima, 24-year-old Alejandro Canchola of San Bernardino, and his passenger, 21-year-old Jose Castrocota of San Bernardino, were also taken to local hospitals with moderate injuries, police said.
After Canchola was discharged from the hospital, he was booked into the West Valley Detention Center to be charged with murder, police said.
He is ineligible for bail, jail records show.
Now, the families of the victims are mourning their losses.
McDonald’s father, Paul McDonald, said they were planning to get married this summer.
“We were planning the wedding, and then [they’d be] raising a family,” he said.
Jaramillo’s father, Julian Ramos, said they were “a perfect couple.”
“When she met Aaron, she just glowed even more,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Jeff Harvey at 909-388-4912 or Harvey_je@sbcity.org.
Witnesses can also anonymously report information through WeTip at 800-782-7463, and they should reference case number 22-36160.
To donate to the McDonald and Ramos families, visit their GoFundMe.