USC hit-run suspect asks for forgiveness

EXPOSITION PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Josue Luna is free on bail, suspected of being an accessory in a deadly hit-and-run. His wife is in jail facing much more serious charges.

"I regret it every night, every day," said hit-and-run suspect Josue Luna. "I pray for their family, I pray for my family."

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Josue Luna talks about the night that changed two families' lives. Luna was in the passenger seat when his wife, Claudia Cabrera, allegedly ran a red light and hit two USC students. Eighteen-year-old Adrianna Bachan was killed and 19-year-old Marcus Garfinkle was seriously injured. Luna and his wife left the scene. Wednesday, he admitted that was a mistake.

"We panicked, great fear came through our minds," said Luna. "We knew our life had changed we didn't know what to do. I mean I was scared, I had my child in the back. I mean that was the situation. Just scared, just running scared."

Police say after hitting the students Luna got out of the car, pulled Garfinkle off the windshield and drove off. Luna spoke about that.

"I picked him up lightly from his shoulders, under his shoulders," said Luna. "I laid him out across the sidewalk, I made sure his head didn't hit the ground, 'cause I held his head."

Luna was arrested at the Mexican border as he returned to the U.S. Friday. His attorney says Luna is cooperating with police. His attorney met with LAPD detectives Wednesday.

"It was an accident, they aren't criminals," said Luna's attorney, Jeff Benice. "They shouldn't be going to jail because of the accident. What Mr. Luna did after the accident, in terms of going to Tijuana and that kind of issue -- he has to deal with that as leaving the scene of an accident. How the district attorney evaluates that, how the detectives present that."

Bachan's mother doesn't feel that's enough. She gave a tearful statement Wednesday at the scene of the accident.

"The harshest punishment is not enough," said Carmen Bachan, Adrianna's mother. "But I trust that the district attorney will seek the maximum punishment for their horrific crime."

"We are sorry," said Luna. "I hope he recuperates, and just to find it in their hearts to forgive us."

Luna is free on $50,000 bail. His wife, however, faces some very serious charges, including felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter. She is in jail and bail for her has been set at $1 million.

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