County Officially Names Pair Killed in Friday Night Accident Blamed on DUI

Five days after the La Mesa freeway crash blamed on a drunken driver from Lemon Grove, the county Medical Examiner’s Office has released the names of the dead.

The office’s website confirmed what family members told local media on Saturday—that Celia Torres and her grandson Gustavo David Gonzalez Jr. were killed in the fiery crash in which Justin Foulds faces felony DUI charges including vehicular manslaughter.

“Both [Torres] and the male passenger …. were trapped inside the vehicle which was engulfed in flames,” said a summary posted Wednesday morning. “911 calls were placed and fire personnel extinguished the flames of both vehicles. Paramedics confirmed the deaths in the vehicle and El Cajon CHP officers investigated the accident.”

Medical examiners cited as cause of death: “thermal injuries with smoke inhalation.”

Gonzalez’s city of residence was listed as San Ysidro, although his mother, Andrea Torres, told local media he was living with her in Fletcher Hills and attending Grossmont High School as a sophomore.

The 16-year-old’s father, David Gonzales, has remarried and lives in Tijuana, the teen’s cousin Jessica Chavez told La Mesa Patch on Sunday.

The time of their deaths was listed as 5:35 p.m. Friday on southbound state Route 125, south of Interstate 8.

The online reports concluded:

“Next of kin notified? Yes”