Valle Verde crash kills RBHS graduate
An early morning April 10 automobile crash claimed the life of a 2006 Rancho Bernardo High School graduate, seriously injured a male driver and hurt three others, after their SUV flipped on Valle Verde Road in Poway.
Charles Elias Amaro II, 20, was pronounced dead at 2:35 a.m. at the scene, according to an investigator with the San Diego County Medical Examiner. Funeral services are planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Maranatha Chapel.
Amaro turned 20 the day of the accident, according to the investigator.
The male driver, identified as Richard Caldwell, a football player and 2007 RB High graduate, was transported with serious head injuries to Palomar Medical Center, said Mark Sanchez, director of Poway’s Safety Services.
“When I got the call this morning, I heard five teens with injuries and I thought — kids, spring break,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said that while the investigation is still in its early stages, deputies at the scene — the west entrance to Edina Way, off Valle Verde — suspect alcohol as a contributing factor for the accident. It typically takes six to eight weeks to get official verification, he said.
Three young men and two girls — ranging in ages from 16 to 20 — were reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed in a 1999 Ford Explorer southbound on Valle Verde in the Vineland Hills area.
Shoes, jackets and other clothing were found outside the vehicle, after some of the occupants were flung from the vehicle.
The incident occurred close to the same location where neighbors requested, but were denied, a four-way stop during a March 4 City Council meeting.
“Some teens showed up at the accident (site) because they were worried it was someone they knew,” Sanchez said. “They told me they recognized the car as being at a party at ‘Stephanie’s’ house, where they had been.”
Poway Sheriffs deputies are trying to determine who “Stephanie” is and if her parents were home during what appeared to be a party with underage drinking, Sanchez said.
The stop signs that were not approved on the north and south sides of Valle Verde and Solera/Vinter Way were rejected in March, but council members asked city staff to study speed on that road.
The signs were suggested to slow motorists down after a Jan. 23 accident where an 11-year-old boy was hit in a crosswalk while crossing Valle Verde Road.
Amaro is survived by his parents, Charles Elias Amaro of Rancho Bernardo and Gidgette Nieves of Carlsbad; and two siblings, Syreeta Blas and Bridget Amaro, both of San Diego.
Arrangements are under the direction of Poway Bernardo Mortuary.