CONCORD — Two boys were killed and their 3-month-old brother was left clinging to life after a driver crashed into the family’s SUV on Friday evening, cutting it in nearly half with enough force to eject the 5 and 10 year olds, authorities said.
The boys’ mother, a 35-year-old from San Pablo, had injuries to her neck and, like her 3-month-old, remained in a hospital Saturday afternoon.
Authorities say the only person of interest, identified as Lemuel S. Wilson Jr., was seen running away from the crash as blood poured from his face. Wilson hid from police until he checked into Highland Hospital in Oakland around 11:55 a.m. Saturday.
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The horrific crash in Concord left an Oakland pastor who knows Wilson without words and offering prayers to the boys killed in the crash and their family. Rev. Tyrone Duckett presided over the funeral for Wilson’s 16-year-old stepdaughter, Reginna Jefferies, who was shot dead in 2016 after attending a memorial for two friends who drowned in the Delta.
“I’m speechless,” the reverend said.
The deadly crash occurred a little before 11 p.m. Friday, when Wilson’s car — a 2004 Infiniti FX — veered off the Highway 4 Solano offramp in Concord. He careened into the adjacent onramp and crashed into the side of the family’s 2006 Dodge Durango. The impact flung his car from the road. It crashed through a fence and landed in Kinder’s parking lot. A fire hydrant ended the car’s path.
By Saturday morning, the father of the 3-month-old boy walked up to a chain link fence separating him from the crash, according to the CHP. Officer Brandon Correia did what he could to comfort the man.
“I wanted to hug him through the fence,” Correia said.
A law enforcement source said the boy was in grave condition at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, fighting for his life. A hospital spokeswoman did not return a call for comment. The 5-year old and 10-year old boys died after they were ejected from the Durango, authorities said. The Contra Costa County Coroner’s Officer refused to release their
names Saturday afternoon because their family had not been notified.
Investigators have not yet determined whether the two boys were wearing seat belts, but say the 3-month-old was fully strapped in.
After the crash, Wilson ran with blood running down his face across Highway 4 toward the Solano drive-in cinema. Forensic investigators spent Saturday analyzing a trail of blood near the scene. Evidence from the car and witness descriptions led police to hunt for Wilson, who escaped capture for about 12 hours.
Somehow, the 35-year-old, originally from Oakland, made his way to Highland Hospital in Oakland. Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols the hospital, said deputies kept an eye on Wilson when he arrived around 11:55 a.m.
CHP officials later arrived to hold the hospital patient in custody, Kelly said.
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Wilson’s attorney, Dorian Peters, said his client’s wife, Onika Wilson, sent her condolences to the San Pablo family who lost two sons.
“She knows what it’s like to lose a child, it’s terrible,” Peters said by phone Saturday evening.
Rev. Duckett, the family’s pastor, said Onika Wilson and her husband were devastated by the death of 16-year-old Jefferies, killed June 14, 2016 on Franklin Street. Her homicide has not been solved, according to Oakland police.
The 16-year-old was carried by a horse-drawn carriage and laid to rest in front of about 500 people at Acts Full Gospel Church in East Oakland. Her mother and stepfather sat in the front row.
“I prayed with him often in regard to handling the death,” Duckett said. “He wasn’t a monster. I can put my word on that.”
