Father of teen driver who live-streamed fatal crash speaks out: She killed her own sister
Obdulia Sanchez’s father concedes he has unanswered questions about the actions of his oldest daughter, who is accused of killing her younger sister in a crash while driving drunk, then narrating the aftermath in a horrifying Instagram live video.
But there’s one thing Nicandro Sanchez is sure of: His surviving daughter needs help.
He spoke out Monday about the death of one daughter and the murder charge of another for the first time after the live-streamed crash went viral.
“What I think is [Obdulia] knows she’s done something wrong,” Sanchez told ABC affiliate KFSN. “Because she knows, and that’s what I feel. She feels bad for herself, but she killed her own sister.”
The California Highway Patrol told Fox affiliate KTXL that the 18-year-old lost control of her 2003 Buick, drove off the edge of the road and then overcorrected. The car crashed into a barbed-wire fence and flipped over in a field, according to KFSN.
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Obdulia Sanchez’s 14-year-old sister, Jacqueline, and another teen girl — who were in the back seat and not wearing seat belts — were ejected from the tumbling car.
Moments later, Obdulia Sanchez was on Instagram Live again, explaining what happened — and growing increasingly hysterical.
“Hey, everybody, if I go to f‑‑‑‑‑‑ jail for life, you already know why,” she began, adjusting the camera so that it showed her younger sister, motionless and bleeding from the head.
“My sister is f‑‑‑‑‑‑ dying. Look, I f‑‑‑‑‑‑ love my sister to death. I don’t give a f‑‑‑‑. Man, we about to die. This is the last thing I wanted to happen to us, but it just did. Jacqueline, please wake up.”
Another girl screamed in the background.
“I don’t f‑‑‑‑‑‑ care though,” she continued. “I’m a hold it down. I love you, rest in peace, sweetie. If you don’t survive, baby, I am so f‑‑‑‑‑‑ sorry. I did not mean to kill you, sweetie. Sweetie, I am f‑‑‑‑‑‑ sorry. Sweetie, please, wake up!”
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Jacqueline was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke told KFSN that Jacqueline “was in the back seat of the vehicle and allegedly unseatbelted, and upon the vehicle rolling over, it ejected her and killed her.”
Obdulia Sanchez was in Merced County Jail on Monday, accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and gross vehicular manslaughter.
The other girl in the car, 14-year-old Manuela Seja, said she didn’t blame Obdulia Sanchez for the crash, which left her with a grievous leg injury.
“Honestly, I’m not mad at anybody and I don’t blame anybody,” Manuela told NBC-affiliate KSEE.
Jacqueline Sanchez was supposed to celebrate her quinceañera, a coming-of-age celebration, on Sunday, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help cover the dead teen’s funeral expenses.
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California Highway Patrol Sgt. Darin Heredia told BuzzFeed News that officials were “well aware” of the video. They are trying to determine whether it’s legitimate and, if so, whether Obdulia Sanchez’s phone use contributed to the crash.
The video is the latest example of how people have used live-streaming tools in ways that technology companies such as Facebook, which owns Instagram, have struggled to contain.
As The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Dwoskin and Craig Timberg reported in April, “live video of violent incidents, including suicides, beheadings and torture, have gone viral, with some reaching millions of people.”
In May, Facebook said it would hire thousands of people to review content to help reduce violent and sensitive videos on its site, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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