Caught On Video: 2 Brothers Dead In Highland Park Hit-And-Run Crash

HIGHLAND PARK (CBSLA) — A hit-and-run crash has left two brothers dead in Highland Park.

The crash unfolded early Sunday at San Pascual Avenue and Pollard Street around 1 a.m.

Authorities told CBS2's Jeff Nguyen that the accident occurred in front of the victims' apartment around 1:15 a.m. Family and friends gathered at the location Sunday evening to pay their respects to Benigno, 25, and Jesse Felix-Zuniga, 19.

Security video released by the LAPD captured the crash on tape. The clip shows a speeding pickup truck T-boning a Ford Fusion, killing the victims. At least three other cars were hit in the crash.

First responders had to use special equipment to remove the brothers from the Fusion.

After the crash, the driver of the pickup truck got out of the vehicle and fled. A passenger of the truck also fled. The truck had paper plates.

This morning, CBS2's Kara Finnstrom spoke to the distraught victims' girlfriends -- Marisol Salizar and Viviana Martinez.

"He was going to come and see me, but he didn't make it," said Salazar, almost inaudible through her tears.

"I don't know what happened. They were home already. They were in front of their door," said Martinez.

"So far, we've talked to a few [witnesses] who only heard the crash but they didn't see really what happened prior to the crash," said Det. Jose DeLeon of the LAPD. "Some of them have told us that they saw males running from the suspect's vehicle."

Police believe the hit-and-run driver is also a man in his 20s.

The suspects in the crash are still at large. Authorities said there is a 50,000 reward for information that leads to their arrest and conviction.

Sunday evening CBS2's Jeff Nguyen spoke to friends and family outside a growing memorial of flowers and candles outside the one-bedroom apartment the victims shared with their parents.

"No, never did I imagine something like this happening to them," said friend Christian Felix.

What makes the loss even more painful, if possible, is the fact the brothers were unable to unlock their secured parking space in time before the truck T-boned their vehicle.

Friends and family told Nguyen a little about the brothers and how they lived.

Jesse was attending nearby Cal State LA. Benigno was a graduate of Cal State Northridge.

Both boys were devoted to their parents who, in turn, made sacrifices in order for the sons to have better lives.

"These guys are always with their parents," Felix said, "It's not because they had to be with their parents, but it's because they chose to be with them."

Investigators believe the suspect was driving about 80 mph when he hit the brothers.