SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Prosecutors believe the man accused of killing two children and injuring two women during a high-speed chase with police on Friday was driving without a license.
San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Jessica Coto made the claim in court Wednesday, adding Angel Salgado injured even more people than initially disclosed Friday night by California Highway Patrol.
In addition to crashing into the car killing a 4-year-old, and 8-year-old boy, as well as injuring their nanny and mother, the San Diego County District Attorney's office says Salgado also hit an elderly woman earlier during the pursuit.
"He is an extreme danger to the community," Coto said while arguing Salgado should be held without bail.
With his head hanging down, Salgado, 20, appeared before a judge for the first time. Salgado entered a not-guilty plea in court on all counts.
Salgado is charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, two counts of felony evading an officer causing serious bodily injury, one count of hit and run with injury, and one count of driving as an unlicensed driver. The judge denied him bail.
Coto says Salgado led police on a chase in the mountain view area that ended in a fiery crash, and that he ran away and hid from police after the collision.
"After the cars crashed, he got out of his car and ran away on foot. He removed items of his clothing to conceal his identity as he ran away from the scene, as the victims were suffering inside of the victim's vehicle."
Coto claims it all started when police tried to pull over Salgado for speeding. She said investigators believe he was driving 45 miles per hour in a residential area, and during the chase, he was driving over 100 miles per hour.
"After the officers first attempted to conduct the traffic stop on the defendant, and he failed to yield, he did rear end an elderly woman on the way to getting on to the first freeway that he got on," she said.
Coto added the elderly woman was also injured, and more charges related to her injuries could come. Still, Salgado's public defender asked for minimal bail. That request was denied.
"This defendant acted with conscious disregard for human life," Coto said. "His callous actions resulted in the senseless killing of two innocent lives."
The San Diego Police Department says its traffic division is investigating the pursuit that led up to the deadly crash.
The police department's policy on pursuits says that when officers are deciding whether or not to chase after a driver, they need to weigh the balance of public safety with the known or suspected offense.
The policy goes on to say officers have, "the responsibility to terminate the pursuit when the benefits of immediate apprehension are outweighed by the hazards of continuing the pursuit."
Previously, ABC 10News asked SDPD what alleged illegal act prompted the pursuit.
An SDPD spokesperson replied in a statement, "Most importantly, we want to remember the young victims of Friday night’s hit-and-run crash on I-805. Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the two children who were killed and the two women who were injured. We understand the public’s desire for answers and justice for these innocent victims. The California Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the collision. We would defer to them on any questions relating to the investigation. SDPD’s Traffic Division is conducting its own internal investigation of this incident to ensure our policies and procedures were followed."
