Hit-and-run driver headed to prison for killing two San Diego boys during police pursuit

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Angel Salgado pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of murder in the deaths of 8-year-old Malikai Romero and 4-year-old Mason Romero. The boys were riding in the back seat of a car with their mother and aunt in December 2023 when Salgado, driving a BMW without a license, led police on a pursuit and slammed into their vehicle. The crash sent the car down an embankment and into a tree, where it caught fire.

Family members filled the courtroom Thursday, many delivering emotional statements about the loss of the boys.

“Every day I wake up with a hole in my heart,” said their mother, Victoria Romero. “I miss my boys every single day, every moment — their laughter, their hugs, the sound of their feet running through the house.”

Relatives expressed both grief and anger, recalling the helplessness of watching the car burn after the collision.

“You chose to run past them. You left Malikai and Mason to burn,” said Cynthia Luna, a family member. “You chose murder. You chose to kill them.”

Salgado apologized in court, saying, “I cannot begin to say how incredibly sorry I am for the pain I have caused. There is no excuse for what I did.”

Despite his remorse, the judge handed down the maximum sentence. Under California law, Salgado must serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole.

For the Romero family, the punishment offers little comfort.

“I have to sit at a gravesite while everybody else is taking their kids to their first day of school,” Romero said. “I’m broken, and I will always be broken.”