KING COUNTY, Wash — A 21-year-old accused of killing two people and fleeing the scene of a deadly crash on Interstate 5 in February pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Antonio Lopez fled to Mexico after the crash that killed 34-year-old Skyler Thornton and 38-year-old Terrell Aaron. He was arrested at the border attempting to cross back into the United States late last month.
Lopez pled not guilty to vehicular assault, vehicular homicide and hit and run. His bail is set at $1 million.
Prosecutors said the crash is the latest in a string of traffic violations Lopez committed over the past six years, including another fatal hit-and-run that killed a 21-year-old man in 2017. Lopez was just 15 years old at the time.
Lopez was charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit and run in juvenile court after striking and killing Kevin Lozoya in Issaquah.
KING 5 sat down with all three of the victims' mothers.
"They're missed so much, each of them meant so much to so many people," said Arletha Strothers.
The three women are bonded by profound heartache.
"We miss him 24/7. Every single second of my life I miss my son," said Grisel Lozoya.
The crash on I-5 happened on a snowy February day at around 3 a.m. Lopez was driving his girlfriend's Jeep to pick her up from a party in the University Village area, according to court documents.
Lopez was headed southbound on I-5 when he passed a semi-truck. The semi-truck driver was "alerted to (Lopez's) extreme speed, especially given the snowy conditions and the traffic flow," according to documents.
Reconstruction of the accident put Lopez's speed at over 70 miles per hour.
Lopez allegedly slammed into the back of a Chevy on the shoulder, which then collided with a Mercedes and the driver who was still outside on the roadway.
The driver and passenger in the Chevy, Thornton and Aaron were killed. The pair are cousins.
"They are so missed, every day, it's like the chain is broken and you can't put it back together because that spot is always going to be there," said Strothers.
Lopez's attorney Bryan Hershman said whether his client is innocent or guilty, the incident is horrible.
"My heart goes out to these people and I don't know how others deal with this, but I go home and pray for them. Whether or not my client did it or is deserving of this is a second issue," Hershman said.
The driver of the Mercedes suffered broken ribs, an injury to his head and a lacerated liver.