Man Facesโข Murder Charge in Fatal Crash,Had Prior โDUI and โคDeportation Order
A man is facing โmurder and gross vehicular manslaughter charges โfollowing a Sunday afternoon collision in San Diego County โthat resulted in theโฃ death of a young girl. Jesus Alva, 31, โof Oceanside, is accused of driving under the influence when his 2025 โคToyota โTacoma crossed โขa double-yellow line on San Felipe Road and collided head-on with a Toyota Camry. The Tacoma later struck a Ford F-350 pulling a utility trailer.
The driverโ of the Camry, a 26-year-old marine sergeantโ from Yuma, and โhis passengers – โขaโ 28-year-old woman and three children – were transported toโค hospitals. Tragically, one ofโ the children, identified in court documents as Aria T. (and spelled Arya onโข a family โคGoFundMe page), died from her injuries. The โฃfather and two other children sustained serious injuries, with the father facing life-altering โinjuries โand one individual suffering paralysis, according to court documents. A 13-year-old passenger in the Ford F-350 sustained minor injuries.
Alva and his 24-year-old โpassenger were able to exit the burning Tacoma after the crash. The extent ofโ Alva’s injuries has not โbeen โฃreleased.
This incident is not Alva’s first encounter with the law regarding impaired driving.โ In april 2021, he pleaded guilty to โmisdemeanor โdrunken driving stemming from a September 2020 crash, with a blood-alcohol content โof โฃat least โข0.15%. He had been warned at the time that โขcausing a death whileโฃ driving under the influence could result inโ a murder charge. He was sentenced to five years of probation,โข scheduled to end next year. He alsoโฃ faces two additional charges of driving while intoxicated causing injury within โข10 years of a DUI conviction,โ related to injuries โsustained in Sunday’s crash.
U.S. Immigration and โคCustoms Enforcement (ICE) reportsโ that Alva was previously ordered removed from the country by an immigration judge โขin 2023 but remained in the United States. ICE has stated they will request an immigration detainerโข to take Alva โขinto custody upon hisโฃ release from the hospital.
Bail was set at $2 million at Alva’s arraignment onโฃ Tuesday, and he is โฃexpected to be booked intoโ jail once medically cleared. His next โcourt hearing is scheduledโ for January 7th.
The California โValues Act (Senateโฃ Bill 54) limits cooperation between local law enforcementโข and immigration agencies, โwith exceptions for individuals convicted ofโข certain โserious or violent felonies.
A GoFundMe โฃaccount โขhas been โขestablishedโค to support the โCruzacencio family, who were โpreparing for the Marine sergeant’s transition outโ of the militaryโ when the collision occurred.