Here's the article I just read on Chronicle man. We gettn paper like the Chronicle!
Fatal freeway shooting stuns
family
Cops say it started with small spat
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Fabian Herrera's family and friends struggled Monday
to grasp how a harmless everyday occurrence in a
nightclub parking lot could lead to the 23- year-old's
death in a freeway shooting.
According to San Francisco police investigators, it all
began early Sunday morning, when Herrera and four
friends left Club NV on Howard Street. One of the
friends opened the door to Herrera's rented Chevy
Suburban and hit the side of a silver Nissan Xterra
parked in the next space.
The friend apologized to the driver of the Xterra, police
said, and it appeared the incident was over. But
minutes later, at about 2:30 a.m., shots rang out as
Herrera drove the SUV along Highway 280 toward his
home in Millbrae.
After the first two shots, Herrera shouted at his
friends to duck. Those were his last words, his
companions told police. He was hit by the third of
four shots that were fired from a silver Xterra.
Herrera's car crashed into the freeway railing, and he
was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was
injured.
Homicide Inspector Antonio Casillas said police
issued a description of the suspect's vehicle and later
arrested Joe Nguyen, 22, of Oakland, on suspicion of
murder. Investigators said Nguyen admitted firing a
pistol but claimed he wasn't trying to hurt anyone.
Long Nguyen, 25, of Newark, who was also in the
Xterra, was arrested on suspicion of being an
accessory to the killing.
"It appears there was some kind of confrontation, but
it was very, very minor," Casillas said, adding there
was not even a scratch left on the Xterra. "The next
thing they know, they are getting shot on the
freeway."
Herrera's grieving father, Miguel Herrera, called the
killing "random idiocy" and said his son's last actions
were selfless.
"He told everybody to duck, and he didn't, so he
wouldn't crash," said Miguel Herrera. "He got hit."
"It is random idiocy, that's what I think of it," the
father said. "They didn't know these people -- for a
ding on a door, this is stupid."
Herrera's father said his son had studied psychology
at a community college in San Mateo and hoped to
enroll at UC Berkeley if he made enough money from
his home audio equipment business.
"The business was just getting off the ground -- he
was doing very well at it," his father said. "He liked to
speed, showing off his vehicle, but he had never been
in trouble, other than speeding tickets."
Morgan Griffith, 23, who knew Herrera since both
were 3, was in the car when his friend was killed.
The door incident seemed so trivial no one gave it a
second thought, Griffith said. After the apology,
Griffith said, "The guy in the other car said, 'OK,' and
rolled up his window. That was that."
Griffith, who worked at Herrera's fledgling business,
Precision Soundworks in Burlingame, said his
friend's death was "completely avoidable."
"Fabian never hurt anybody, he never talked down
about anybody," Griffith said. "They followed us from
the club, they decided they wanted to do this -- there
was no hesitation -- it seemed like they knew what
they wanted to do.
"It is a shame that a perfectly innocent person who
had his whole life ahead of him had to be the one,"
Griffith said. "Now my best friend is gone. We always
looked out for each other. This time I couldn't."
Both Nguyens were booked into the San Francisco
jail and are awaiting arraignment.
E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at
[email protected].
