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OGDEN — A 19-year-old Ogden man pleaded guilty Monday to hitting and killing two Weber State students while he was trying to evade police officers.
Mark Mora pleaded guilty to automobile homicide and failure to stop at the command of police officers, both second-degree felonies, in connection with the April 2009 incident.
Police say Mora and a passenger, Andrew Michael Gomez, 21, were in a Cadillac that was fleeing from police on April 22. Officers had tried to stop the vehicle Mora was driving because they suspected Mora and Gomez, who are known gang members, had been involved in a recent home burglary.
But Mora sped off, with police in pursuit, and ended up running a red light at the intersection of 28th Street and Washington Boulevard, crashing into a vehicle carrying Blake Strebel, 19, and Derek Jasper, 18.
The crash instantly killed both Strebel, a Weber State University student, and Jasper, who was anticipating a mission call from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints within a week. The two young men were roommates and co-workers at a Domino's Pizza. They were headed home after playing basketball. Strebel also had plans for an LDS mission and eventually a career in law enforcement, according to family members.
Mora will be sentenced March 30.
E-mail: emorgan@desnews.com
