A grieving man is asking for the public’s help to locate a hit-and-run driver who slammed into his vehicle and killed his fiancée on the 210 Freeway in Glendale.
On Dec. 20, 2025, Eric Linares and his fiancée, Erika De La Riva, 43, were driving home from a family dinner around 1:15 a.m.
While traveling eastbound on the 210 Freeway near Lowell Avenue, a pickup truck struck the rear of their SUV at high speed. The impact caused the vehicle to skid before rolling over six times.
“The impact was brutal,” Linares said. “It was just ungodly. Very severe, quick, just split second. I looked to my right and that’s when I realized Erika wasn’t in the car anymore. The seatbelt was still attached, buckled, but she wasn’t in the car.”
During the crash, De La Riva was ejected from the SUV and landed on the roadway, where she was then struck by another vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Linares was transported to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Investigators said the suspect was driving as fast as 90 miles per hour at the time of the crash. After the collision, the driver fled without stopping to help.
Linares said the pickup truck was seen driving erratically just minutes before the fatal crash.
“We do know there were people who called CHP minutes before the incident happened, reporting the driver at high rates of speed and almost sideswiping another vehicle,” he told KTLA.
CHP investigators have collected dashcam footage and witness statements, but the suspect—believed to be driving a white or silver pickup truck—remains on the run more than a month later.
Linares and De La Riva were only months away from getting married when her life was cut short. Loved ones are now urging anyone with information to come forward.
“We’re asking for help from the public,” Linares said. “Any body shops that might have taken a vehicle in that has front-end damage or any neighbors who have seen a car that has damage to the front.”
Linares said he hopes the suspect is caught before someone else is hurt or killed.
“People like this need to be held accountable,” he said. “He destroyed this family. He’ll destroy another family.”
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the California Highway Patrol at 818-240-8200.