BRENTWOOD (KPIX) — A community is grieving as two young lives were taken in a horrible DUI accident. Police have arrested 18-year-old Colby Shraver from Knightsen for two counts of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.
The accident happened off of Byron Highway in the incorporated area of Brentwood in east Contra Costa County. Family and friends have set up two memorials for the victims to remember the two young lives lost.
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Friends confirm one of the victims is 16-year-old Luis Esparza. The other was 18-year-old Kassandra Sepulveda.
“I’m still in disbelief, I don’t really believe she’s gone. It’s really hard to hear,” said friend Denise Martinez.
Contra Costa CHP says the accident happened just after 11 p.m. on Saturday night. Friends then quickly started hearing about the tragedy, including Sepulveda’s boyfriend.
Manny Rodriguez got the call saying, “Kassandra, she’s dead, I tried to wake her up but she’s dead. She’s dead.”
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Neighbors say they have had concerns about Bryon Highway being too narrow, even for the cars passing by. They were even more concerned after they heard a loud party taking place on this patch of grass.
“I think a lot of mistakes were made. It’s not a place to party on the side of the road and block up a narrow road like this,” said Knightsen resident Dan Galvin.
Martinez describes Sepulveda as a friend with a big heart and had the same laugh since she met her in 1st grade. Her loss is being grieved by so many, including her parents and two brothers.
“It’s so hard not having her here anymore because it damages all her world. All her world just collapses,” says Martinez.
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According to CHP, there were two separate DUI crashes over the Labor Day weekend, with three fatalities in Contra Costa County.