Family members say Cody Sanders didn't even make it 100 yards before another driver crashed into him last Monday, Aug. 11. He leaves behind a fiancée and two children.
Around 7:30 a.m., deputies responded to a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Grevillea Avenue and Marine Avenue. Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene, and three people in a second vehicle -- including the driver who is now facing charges -- were taken to the hospital for treatment. The third vehicle involved in the crash was unoccupied at the time, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
The driver of the second vehicle was suspected of being under the influence at the time of the crash and was later arrested.
According to LASD, the driver facing charges was under the influence at the time of the crash.
"We were engaged. We had plans on getting married. Now I'm never going to get married," said Sanders' fiancée, Lizette Alvarado.
Friends and family of 35-year-old Sanders gathered to remember the loving, funny, and dedicated father they knew him to be.
"He would always tell me like, 'Don't worry, honey, everything's fine,' and it was," Lizette said.
"Cody was so goofy, nerdy. He always had the best jokes," said Vivianna Alvarado, Lizette's sister.
Cody worked as an inspector for JLM Environmental, and like any other day, on Aug. 11, he was leaving the office to head to his first appointment. He got maybe 100 yards before the other driver plowed right into him. Cody died at the scene.
"I didn't even get to say goodbye to him that morning. I was going to call him down to tell him about the stuff that I forgot in his truck, and I didn't. And I regret not calling him to check," Lizette said.
With the crash site so close to where he worked, his coworkers will continue to keep him in their memories.
"One of the benefits is that we get to come see it all the time. We can just walk over during breaks and after work, but it's just... it's going to be a constant reminder every day of what happened here," said coworker Joey Moschella.
"I think the world's all been robbed. I think his family has been robbed. You know he was an amazing brother, friend, father, fiancé, coworker, friend," said coworker Aaron Jones.
The District Attorney's Office has filed multiple charges against the at-fault driver, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
The name of the man charged in the deadly crash was not immediately released.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, South Los Angeles Station Detective Garcia at 310-219-2750.