‘They were stolen from us.’ Merced family mourns over couple killed by suspected DUI driver
To many, June 26 of this year was just another day. But for the tight-knit Juarez family, it was one of devastation and mourning when they found out they lost Jose Juarez, 57, and Pamela Juarez, 56.
The husband and wife were killed a day earlier in a crash that the California Highway Patrol said was caused by King Vanga, 20. He has been charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence.
The family is still trying to process it all.
“At night it gets harder and start thinking about it more and going through pictures realizing I’m not going to see them again,” said Gabriela Juarez, 26, one of the couple’s daughters.
“We just feel so robbed, they were stolen from us; the ability to say goodbye,” daughter-in-law Priscilla Juarez, 33, said. “It was a blind hit.”
Vanga suffered moderate injuries and was arrested, then booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of felony gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, resisting, and removing or taking a firearm from a public or peace officer, according to jail records.
Bail was set at $415,000 and he is now out of jail, set to be represented in court by Merced-based attorney Jeffrey A. Tenenbaum.
Gabriela continues to wear a “Justice for Pamela and Jose” shirt to bring attention to the case.
“The investigation is going to be for months,” Gabriela said. “We don’t want people to say it ‘happened one day and that’s it,’ as if it doesn’t matter.”
The Juarez family plans to continue advocating for the couple, letting it be known that they were more than “just a woman and her passenger” who were killed.
“It was a mother, father, grandparents, and sister, brother, and a child, and a son, a friend, a co-worker. There has to be consequences for action. You know the system can’t fail us here,” Priscilla said.
“The kid (Vanga) made a mistake, but you know what, that mistake stole two people’s lives. For him to be out on bail after killing two people — it blows my mind. I want justice for them and if justice means he needs to serve a life sentence in prison, that’s what justice needs to do.”
The crash
According to the CHP, Pamela Juarez was driving a 2012 Honda west on Santa Fe Drive near Atwater on the night of June 25, a Friday, when she was rear-ended by a 2012 Lexus ES350 driven by Vanga.
The couple was minutes away from their son’s home.
The collision caused the Honda to spin into the eastbound lanes. It was engulfed in flames, with the couple trapped inside. They were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CHP.
Vanga’s Lexus continued northwest, crashing into a chain-link fence and overturning.
He suffered only moderate injuries, the CHP stated, and was arrested after officers determined Vanga was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the collision.
Pamela and Jose
Jose was born Sept. 13, 1963, and Pamela on Feb. 25, 1965. Born and raised in Southern California, they got married in January 1983. In 2012, they moved to Merced.
Jose was an operations manager and Pamela was a teacher’s aide in a special-education classroom.
Together they raised six children: Jose Luis Juarez II, 38, Sergio Juarez, 36, Angelica Juarez, 34, Christina Juarez, 33, Javier Juarez, 31, and Gabriela.
Growing up, the children played soccer. When they weren’t involved with the sport, the family went camping across California. Pamela and Jose took trips to Yellowstone National Park, Mexico, Hawaii and Oregon. They also visited Mount Rushmore and Idaho and liked to go fishing at Lake McClure.
Aside from those adventures, the children and in-laws admired Jose’s humor and hard-working nature as well as Pamela’s cooking. Her notable dishes included green enchiladas and pancakes.
Both made anyone they met feel loved and welcomed, said another daughter-in-law, Kathleen Juarez.
“They were always helping any time anyone needed anything, whether it’s family or just friends, they were always there to provide whatever support,” said Kathleen 31. “They both loved each other so much, and really admired how they loved their children and their grandchildren.”
‘Everyone loved them’
Sergio Juarez remembers his parents as “heroes.”
“As a whole they were everything, they were heroes,” Sergio said. “They were amazing people. Anyone who knew them or got to know them were lucky.”
Christina Juarez said her father was quick to strike up conversations with those around him, “giving off vibes that he was a good person.”
“They were just good-hearted people, everyone loved them,” Christina said. “They were just willing to help, they were always there to help, whether it was financially or emotionally, they made themselves available.”
Added Priscilla: “The amount of love that they’re getting, makes me want to leave that kind of legacy behind. They’re always welcoming and people felt that and I don’t think the response would be this big if people didn’t feel that way from them.”
In addition to their own children, Pamela and Jose leave behind 15 grandchildren: Anthony Joseph Hidalgo, 21, Trevor James Johnson, 17, Haylie Pamela Juarez, 11, Jose Luis Juarez III, 9, Kyren Phaysaleum, 7, Khloe Phaysaleum,13, Sofia May Phaysaleum, 10 months, Sergio Juarez,10, Eli Juarez, 8, Ezra Juarez, 6, Axel Juarez, 3, Emily Quintana, 8, Frances Quintana, 2, Briana Quintana, 20, Emannuel Quintana, 11.
Pamela and Jose will be laid to rest in Southern California on July 20.
This story was originally published July 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.