A teenage boy held his girlfriend’s hand as they crossed the street early in the evening on March 10, 2026. But as they made their way through the intersection, an alleged drunk driver sped down the street, striking and killing 15-year-old Juliani “Gio” Moreno. His girlfriend, Mercedes Solano, watched as the car hit Gio and then drove through Francy’s Bridal Flowers & More in Parlier, California. Now, 35-year-old Tiffany Mercado is facing charges in Gio’s death, and his family is wondering how they’ll live without him.
Everything happened very quickly.
Solano told KSEE the driver came out of nowhere. “I was holding his hand. We were walking shoulder to shoulder here, and it all went by so quick. It was like an explosion,” she said.
When she looked up, she saw Gio’s body lying on the ground. Just before the accident, they’d switched sides crossing the street.
“It’s crazy because when we were here, I was on his side. And when we were crossing the street, we switched sides. That could have been me,” she recalled to the outlet.
The flower shop owner could not believe the wreckage left behind.
Francy’s Bridal Flowers & More owner Hermina Lopez told KSEE that she closed her shop early on the day of the crash. Otherwise, the crash could have killed her, too.
“We’re basically lucky to be alive. You know us, as well as the grandkids as well. We do close at six,” she said. “For no reason, we decided to close a little bit early yesterday. So a few minutes made the difference.”
Gio played high school football and had big plans for his future.
Gio, who played football for Immanuel High School, planned to play football this summer and spend time with his girlfriend in Montana.
“He was one of the linemen for the Immanuel High School team. Yeah, so it was sad. Sad to hear that, really. My son was devastated to hear that,” resident Rene Lopez told KSEE.
Chris Stevens, Gio’s football coach, spoke highly of the teenager during a candlelight vigil, Fox 26 reported.
“He wanted to be just part of the team, do anything for the team,” Stevens said. “And that is really just an attribute to who Gio was.”
The teenager’s father recited a poem:
“I thought of you today, But that’s nothing new.
I thought of you yesterday, And I will tomorrow too.
I think of you in silence, And make no outward show.
For what it meant to lose you, Only those who love you know.
Remembering is easy, I’m going to do it everyday.
It’s the heartache of losing you, That will never go away.”
Mercado reportedly has a lengthy criminal history.
She now faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, inflicting great bodily injury during the commission of a felony, felony driving under the influence, and gross vehicular manslaughter, per KSEE. The news outlet also noted that Mercado has several past felony charges in San Bernardino County. ABC 30 reported that Mercado appeared in court on March 13 and pleaded not guilty.
Gio had his entire life ahead of him, and one person’s decision to allegedly drive while intoxicated ruined all of that. She deserves to spend many years in prison if a court convicts her.
