OAKLAND — Two men who police believe were possibly street racing have been charged in the October 2024 death of a man who was killed when one of the vehicles veered out of control and struck him on a sidewalk, knocking him through a metal fence into the homeless camp where he lived, according to authorities and court documents.
One of the suspects, Andres Ortega, 29, of Oakland, who was arrested April 14, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, leaving the scene of an accident with injury, and vehicle theft. Ortega has seven prior felony convictions going back to 2015, including vehicle theft, burglary, identity theft and felon in possession of a firearm.
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The other suspect, Anthony Fuentes, 24, of Oakland, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant charging him with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
The man who suffered fatal injuries was James Alvarado, 55, who had lived at a homeless encampment in the 2300 block of East 12th Street for about six months.
Authorities said about 2:14 a.m. Oct. 7, 2024, Ortega was driving an Acura RDX SUV and Fuentes was driving an Acura TL in the city’s San Antonio neighborhood.
According to court records, video surveillance showed both vehicles were possibly racing, speeding westbound on East 12th Street beginning near 25th Avenue. As the vehicles neared the 2300 block of East 12th the cars collided at the intersection of East 12th Street and 23rd Avenue.
The collision caused the Acura sedan driven by Fuentes to veer into the oncoming traffic lanes before it left the roadway and struck Alvarado, who was on the sidewalk in the 2200 block of East 12th Street. The impact sent Alvarado through a wrought-iron fence surrounding the property and he landed in a pile of debris. His body was not found until two days later.
Fuentes, who police said did not have a valid license at the time, was taken to a hospital. He admitted driving the car, that he was speeding and that he collided with the fence, court documents say. He apparently did not realize he had struck Alvarado and was released from a hospital, without charges, before Alvarado’s body was found, authorities said.
Traffic investigators led by Sgt. Mike Cardoza later determined the SUV involved in the Oct. 7 collision was involved in another hit-and-run three days later in East Oakland, where the driver fled on foot leaving the vehicle behind. DNA recovered at the second hit-and-run scene led to Ortega being confirmed as the driver and video surveillance and a statement he made to police after his arrest April 14 put him at the scene of the Oct. 7 collision.
A family member said Alvarado had been addicted to drugs for many years, but that did not stop them from loving him and trying to help him.
His younger sister, Nina Alvarado, 54, said he was a talented mechanic who “was always a happy person, always smiling. He was just a good brother to all of us, he was a protector of his sisters and he did not deserve to die the way he did.”
James Alvarado was one of 12 siblings born in Mexico who came to Oakland at different times. He was about 10 when he came to Oakland and attended local schools graduating from Oakland High School. His sister said he had “natural ability as a mechanic” even though he never went to a school for training and worked as one all his life, including through his addiction. He would do repair and maintenance work to family members’ vehicles.
He married more than 20 years ago and left behind a son and daughter. He was still married when he first started using drugs. The addiction cost him his marriage, a real relationship with his children — who were youngsters when he and his wife divorced — and steady employment.
Nina Alvarado said she and her siblings constantly “tried to help him” through multiple attempts at sobriety. “He had a loving family willing to help him and give him a place to live, but he wanted a place where he could use drugs. The drug addiction took over,” she said.
But he never lost touch with his siblings “and would come around when he was sober,” and attend their mother’s birthday parties, Nina Alvarado said
She would meet him occasionally in Oakland but he never told her where he was living. “He had no business living in a homeless camp but when drugs take over it changes your life,” she said.
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And then came the shocking news that he was dead.
She said she is still upset that it took two days to find his body and that it was another homeless camp resident who did and not the police.
Nina says she holds no anger toward the men charged in his death: “I’m just happy they’re going to be held accountable.”
Nina said the family always believed that drugs would kill their brother, “not being struck by a car and found days later. He did not deserve that. He was not a bad person. We have nothing but good memories of him.”
A memorial service for him is planned in June.
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