Security guard recounts car slamming into East Bay guard shack, killing friend

DISCOVERY BAY, Calif. - Security guard Jamonee Andrews is recovering in the hospital from injuries he suffered when an SUV crashed into the guard shack at a gated housing community in Discovery Bay.

Andrews has a bruised kidney, and he bled profusely from the crash.

But he was luckier than his co-worker and friend, Rene Bucaro, who died at the scene.

 "Rene did not deserve this at all," Andrews said from his hospital bed on Monday night. "It was really sad the way he went out." 

On Friday shortly before midnight, the California Highway Patrol said a 17-year-old driver veered off Balfour Road, through the Bixler Road intersection, and crashed his Hyundai Santa Cruz into the guard shack.

"I remember seeing headlines and bam!" Andrews recalled. "The next thing I know, the walls tipped over. Insulation is everywhere. Debris, glass, everything is everywhere. All I saw was headlights in a split second." 

Investigators have not yet said if speed was a factor, but they have ruled out driving under the influence.

The CHP said the teen driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.

Bucaro's pastor told KTVU that he worked several jobs, including at his church.

Andrews said he looked up to the 62-year-old, describing Bucaro as a moral compass and hard worker. 

"He wanted you to be at the top of your A game," Andrews said. "He wouldn't let me slack."

Andrews said the SUV did not hit him directly  but that it  pushed a desk into him, knocking him to the back wall.

The SUV, however, did hit Bucaro, trapping him underneath. 

Despite the physical pain, Andrews said he's grateful to be alive, though he dearly misses his friend. 

"You could be gone," he said. "You're here today, which is really amazing." 

His family started a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses.