Loved ones are mourning a 21-year-old woman who was killed in a Fullerton crash.
On April 12, Angy Velasquez had left a gathering that morning and was sitting in the passenger seat as her boyfriend drove them home.
Her boyfriend, who was driving a Tesla sedan, was traveling westbound on Orangethorpe Avenue when he ran a red light near the intersection of South State College Boulevard at 6:48 a.m., according to the Fullerton Police Department.
His speeding car clipped a Toyota truck before crashing head-on into the side of an Orange County Transit Authority bus.
Velasquez was killed on impact. Her boyfriend was transported to the hospital, where he died the next day. His identity has not been released by the coroner’s office.
“Angy had just turned 21,” said Stephanya Cabanas, a family friend. “She was so young, so beautiful, so bright.”
Velasquez was also a young mother of a 5-year-old son.
“She had so much to live for and it’s just so unfortunate because now he won’t be able to see his mother grow with him,” Cabanas said. “It just happened so suddenly and so we are just trying to take it day by day. We are so broken about this loss. She was a very special person to us. She was a mother, a sister, a friend, and that’s just something so devastating.”
Friends and community members are rallying to support Velasquez’s family during this difficult time. Cabana said Velasquez’s grandmother had also passed away recently, leaving her family with two heartbreaking losses.
On Saturday, loved ones hosted a fundraiser in Santa Ana to raise money for funeral expenses. Cabanas said Velasquez’s son will be given extra support during this time.
“Everybody’s just trying to support her family,” she said. “She has a big family, a big support system, so her son is in very good hands. Everybody’s going to be there for him as much as they can, but it’s a big loss for him because at the end of the day, that’s his mother.”
Another fundraiser will be held on Sunday, May 4, where food will be served at a home at 813 Plymouth Place in Anaheim.
The crash remains under investigation. Five passengers aboard the OCTA bus were transported to hospitals with minor injuries. The bus driver and the Toyota driver were uninjured.
It’s unclear whether alcohol or drugs were factors in the collision.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Fullerton Police Investigator Feaster at 714-738-6812 or email jfeaster@fullertonpd.org.
Anonymous tips can be provided to OC Crime Stoppers at 1-855-847-6227 or online at occrimestoppers.org.