Relatives are preparing to lay two San Jose women to rest after authorities say they were killed in a car crash near Los Banos last week at the hands of a San Jose man driving against traffic while on drugs.

Alicia Carranza, 40, and 30-year-old Sara Castro Chiti were passengers in a Ford F-150 pickup on eastbound Highway 152 approaching Interstate 5 in the early-morning hours of Oct. 9 when the truck was hit head-on by a Ford Explorer going the wrong way, according to the California Highway Patrol and Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Chiti was pronounced dead at the scene. Carranza was airlifted to a Modesto hospital, where she died. Another passenger in the pickup, 23-year-old San Jose resident Maria Can, was hospitalized with major injuries. The pickup driver, 23-year-old Victor Manual Herrera of San Jose, suffered minor injuries.

The driver of the wrong-way Ford Explorer, 68-year-old San Jose resident Ali Farsad, suffered minor injuries and was soon arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of illegal drugs. He is being held in Merced County Jail on $304,404 bail. It was not immediately clear what drugs Farsad was allegedly using.

Friends and relatives said the four people in the F-150 were headed to Los Angeles for janitorial jobs there when the crash occurred.

Chiti emigrated from the small Guatemalan town of Totonicapán seven years ago, and other than brother Govany Castro and sister-in-law, her family still lives there. Castro remembered his sister, who once cleaned houses in SanJose before getting her current job in Southern California, as a social person who doted over his 2-year-old son.

“She was friendly, outgoing and had a lot of friends,” Castro said. “And she totally loved my son.”

Carranza was a friend and co-worker of Chiti; her family could not immediately be reached. Can is Govany Castro’s sister-in-law.

A funeral Mass for the two women is tentatively planned for Thursday morning at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on San Antonio and Jackson streets in San Jose.

Cause of the Merced County Crash

If news accounts of this incident are accurate, the 68 year old driver  is likely responsible for the incident. While this devastating Merced County accident on October 9 remains under investigation, the family members of those accident victims who were fatally injured would be well-advised to speak with an understanding and knowledgeable California wrongful death lawyer. An attorney such as Gary A. Kessler who has successfully handled wrongful death accidents can advise the victim’s family of their legal rights to hold the driver accountable and best course of action should they wish to pursue a wrongful death claim.

Alcohol  impaired driving accidents and wrongful death liability

The California wrongful death attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme grief and sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one.  The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its wrongful death cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention necessary to obtain a successful result for your wrongful death case.

The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and expert witnesses to prepare for trial of your case.  As in all wrongful death and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our attorney fees on their behalf.  Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery.  If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.