Crime & Safety

Menifee Police Seek Duo In Deadly Hit-And-Run: PHOTOS

Police say they are behind the crash that claimed the life of a man who was taking his pregnant wife to the hospital to have their 3rd baby.

MENIFEE, CA — A pair of suspects in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 22-year-old man in Menifee were at large Friday, with authorities looking to the public for help finding them.

The unidentified driver and his front-seat passenger fled following the collision Monday that left 22-year-old Ricardo Murillo Sandoval fatally injured, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Sandoval was driving his pregnant wife to the hospital to have their baby, according to news reports.

Sgt. John Burke said the suspects were in a Toyota pickup truck that was traveling northbound on Menifee Road about 1:45 a.m. when it slammed into Sandoval's Lexus headed west on state Route 74.

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Sandoval was killed on impact, and his 23-year-old wife who was in the front seat suffered moderate injuries, Burke said. Both were trapped until rescuers arrived.

The suspects — pictured in the surveillance photos above — bailed out of the wrecked pickup and ran away, escaping before deputies arrived, according to the sergeant. Two teen girls, ages 15 and 17, were hurt in the Toyota and were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. It was unclear whether or how well the girls knew the two suspects.

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Both suspects are Hispanic, in their late teens or early 20s, with short hair. The driver had on a black cap and black jacket. He was clean-shaven, while his passenger had a half-beard and mustache and was wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt with the imprint "Aero" in red-lettering on the front.

Image courtesy: GoFundMe

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe account that was set up to raise money for the Sandoval family indicates that the father had two daughters, and his wife delivered a third baby girl the same day her husband was killed.

"This pregnancy was something we were beyond excited for!" Alyssa Sandoval wrote on the page. "I love you so much my angel. Remembering your exact last words to me as we were on the way to the hospital, 'I'm so excited babe!'.. I will forever keep you in my heart."

So far, $6,955 has been raised via the GoFundMe campaign. Click here if you would like to donate.

Anyone with information about the suspects in this case is asked to contact the sheriff's Menifee station at (951) 210-1091.

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— Images via Riverside County Sheriff's Department / City News Service contributed to this report

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