Car crash stopped red light runner from hitting couple with stroller, traffic cam shows
PHOENIX - The family whose vehicle crashed into a red light runner's vehicle in Phoenix last week — quite possibly saving the lives of another family crossing the street at the time — described the incident Thursday as a "blessing."
Police say the collision occurred on the evening of Oct. 14 when a 2017 Jeep Renegade traveling east ran a red light and was struck broadside by a 2016 Chevrolet Cruz traveling south.
The incident was captured on city of Phoenix traffic camera video. It shows the pedestrians step into the street and start to cross the road on a green light. Within seconds, the Jeep enters the picture and runs the light, on a direct path toward the pedestrians, one of whom is pushing the stroller.
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At the last second, the Chevrolet Cruz, which has a green light, comes into the intersection and crashes into the side of the Jeep, stopping it from hitting the couple in the street. The Cruz then spins upon impact and barely misses them, as they run away, unharmed.
"When I watch the video, it just gives me chills," Shannon Vivar, the 27-year-old driver of the Chevrolet Cruz, said.
"I don't really think I'm a hero, I think it was meant to happen," she later said.
Vivar said her 3-year-old son and mother, Shirley Vivar, were passengers in the vehicle at the time of the crash and that they were all unharmed.
Both Shannon and Shirley Vivar recounted their experience in the crash Thursday during a press conference at the Phoenix Police Department headquarters.
"The Jeep could've hit that family but it hit us (and) I said it's a blessing, it's a blessing, you know, that we were there," Shirley Vivar said. "It's like the wrong time at the wrong place and then it's like the right time at the right place type of thing."
In a post on Facebook Wednesday, Ulysses Betancourt of Glendale said he was the one walking with his fiancee and child in the stroller when the collision occurred. On his page, he said their son was with them and that they are expected again.
"That night was scary," he wrote in a public post. "Seeing it from a different point of view, I can't believe how close we actually were to being hit."
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Betancourt did not immediately respond Thursday to inquires from The Arizona Republic.
Shannon Vivar said during the press conference that the two families had not met.
The Jeep Renegade was driven by 28-year-old Ernesto Otanez Oveso, who threatened a witness with a knife as he attempted to flee from the scene, according to court records. The witness was unharmed, the documents add.
A woman who was with Oveso at the time of the collision fled the scene and had not been located by police as of Thursday afternoon, Sgt. Tommy Thompson said at the press conference. He added that the woman is not facing charges.
Oveso was arrested and booked on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, weapons possession by a prohibited possessor, DUI and could face additional charges, according to police. His bond was set at $10,000.
When asked by a reporter Thursday what she would say to Oveso if she had a chance to speak to him, Shannon Vivar began tearing up and deferred to her mother.
"I would tell him, you know, I hope this is a lesson learned for him because it could’ve been worse, we could’ve been in a real bad situation," Shirley Vivar said. "I think this is like a wake-up call for him because if it wasn't for our car he could’ve took a family and if it (the crash) would've been worse he would've probably even took us, as well... it's not worth it."
Shannon later explained that it was emotional to talk because she feels Oveso was "heartless'' when he fled.
"He did see me and my son get out of the car and he still had the courage to leave, it just breaks my heart," she said.
Follow Chelsea Curtis on Twitter @curtis_chels.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Woman recalls crash that stopped car from hitting couple with a stroller
