CHULA VISTA - A Highway Patrol officer, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law -- all killed in a fiery crash in Santee -- will be remembered at a memorial service Saturday in Chula Vista.
Mark Saylor and his wife Cleofe, both 45, their 13-year-old daughter Mahala and 38-year-old brother-in-law Chris Lastrella were killed in the crash at 6:35 p.m. Aug. 28 at the end of state Route 125 at Mission Gorge Road.
The officer was off-duty at the time of the crash.
They were in a 2009 Lexus loaned by Bob Baker Lexus in El Cajon while their vehicle was being serviced, authorities said. One of the occupants, believed to be Cleofe Saylor, called 911 to report the accelerator in the loaner vehicle was stuck.
Witnesses said the car was going more than 100 mph shortly before the crash.
The car collided with an SUV waiting to turn left at the end of Highway125, and continued across Mission Gorge Road, crashed through a fence and ended up on fire in the bed of the San Diego River.
All four victims died at the scene.
A public Celebration of Life will be held at 2:30 p.m. at Calvary Chapel, 1771 E. Palomar St., Chula Vista, CHP Officer Brad Baehr said.
A viewing will be held from 2 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m., Baehr said.
The family welcomes participation by the public and CHP, but law enforcement officers are asked to wear civilian clothes, according to Baehr.
Previous story: SANTEE - The victims of a crash apparently caused by a stuck accelerator in a car loaned by an El Cajon dealership were positively identified Monday as an off-duty CHP officer, his wife, teenage daughter and brother-in-law.
Killed in the fiery collision around 6:35 p.m. Friday, at the end of state Route 125 at Mission Gorge Road, were California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor of Chula Vista; his 45-year-old wife, Cleofe; 13-year-old daughter, Mahala; and 38-year-old brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
The Saylor family was in a Lexus that was going more than 100 mph when it clipped a Ford Explorer, smashed through a fence and hit an embankment, which launched the car into the bed of the San Diego River, where it burst into flames.
The driver of the Explorer, Phillip Pretty, 52, was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
Both vehicles had been going north on SR 125, and the driver of Explorer was trying to turn left when the SUV was struck from behind, according to law enforcement and witness reports.
Someone believed to be Saylor's wife called 911 to report that the car's accelerator was stuck, CHP Officer Brian Pennings said. That downhill stretch of northbound 125 near Grossmont College intersects one of the busiest streets in the county.
Saylors' regular vehicle was being serviced at Bob Baker Lexus, which issued them the loaner car that crashed.
A sales manager for the dealership, Blair Carter, told SignOn San Diego that employees' hearts sunk when they learned about the crash. He said the car was equipped with a system that should have shut off the engine if there was a major malfunction.
Saylor, 45, was a safety officer who inspected school buses, ambulances, tow trucks and armored vehicles.
"He was an outstanding officer who was well-respected by his peers," Pennings said, adding that Saylor was also a "passionate athlete who was very competitive."
Pennings said Saylor would have completed 20 years as a highway patrolman in October, working in offices in western Los Angeles County and El Cajon before settling in the San Diego office in 1995. He began his safety inspection assignment four years ago.
The Sheriff's Department is in charge of the accident investigation, and is being assisted by the CHP.
