‘They left too soon’: Alamo brothers killed in California crash

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A South Texas family is mourning the loss of their two loved ones who were killed in a crash in California on Sunday. Rene Arredondo Jr., 26, and Randy Arredondo, 25, two brothers from Alamo, were ejected from a GMC Sierra after the driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road, rolling over, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash happened at about 7:35 p.m. on Interstate 8, west of Carrizo Gorge Road. ValleyCentral spoke with Amy Garcia, the brothers' mother, and Eric Rodriguez, Randy's fiancée, who shared that the two were temporarily staying in Arizona to work on solar panels after being hired by a third-party company in August 2025. "Randy and Renee would go work upstate in the solar panels because they were the ones who would help their mom, who is a single mother with the bills," Eric said. Eric shared that the brothers had gone to San Diego for a weekend trip, as they often traveled during their time off. After Randy's iPhone location stayed in one area for a while, Eric felt a little concerned, but assumed Randy's phone battery had died. "His iPhone location just stayed in one area," Eric said. "It was about 6:45 p.m. in California, and I texted him to be careful, whoever's driving, to tell him not to fall asleep on the road. I told him I would be waiting for him to call me." At 12:30 a.m., Eric checked on him again and noticed the location remained the same as before. "I stayed up all night that night, calling him, calling him, and messaging him," Eric said. "The messages wouldn't go through. I called Randy's mom, worried because they would always call and we would go to sleep on FaceTime every single night." On Monday morning, Eric called the front desk of the Arizona hotel where the brothers were staying, and asked if they were there. Rene's truck remained at the hotel, but there was no sight of them. It wasn't until Eric reached out to one of Randy's coworkers that he received the devastating news. "His coworker said they had been in an accident and passed away," Eric said in Spanish. "Everyone at work knew." The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office later gave the family more information. "They were driving back from San Diego to Arizona," Eric said. "They were off on the weekend from work. So, they were out on a weekend trip. Unfortunately, the driver fell asleep at the wheel while driving back. He was going 70 miles an hour when he hit the median wall, causing the rollover." According to the California State Highway Patrol, the 20-year-old driver is from Edinburg and received minor injuries. Randy and Renee were ejected from the truck and found on the side of the road. On Tuesday morning, Eric and Amy were headed to Arizona to pick up the brothers' belongings. "A lot of people from the Valley go upstate, out of state, to go and work to make ends meet, to help their family members, single mothers, they do it for their family, really super family-oriented," Eric said. Amy told ValleyCentral that Randy and Rene were her only sons, best friends, and hard workers. Rene had two children. "Rene enjoyed having fun, working on his truck, and always wanted the best for his little boy and girl," Amy said. "Randy loved buying his Celsius, one for work in the morning and then one for lunchtime," Eric said. "He loved hiking and nature; he just enjoyed following a creek all the time. He was also a coffee type of person, his order was a French iced vanilla latte with caramel drizzle and cinnamon powder." A family member set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral and memorial expenses. "Unfortunately, we're lost in words, we're accepting any prayers, any blessings, anything for these hard moments," Eric said. "We would love to say that we appreciate any single donation. It was an unfortunate event that happened, something unexpected. They left too soon, they're young. They're victims, they're passengers. We just really appreciate all the kind words and the sharing of the posts."