A suspected DUI, wrong-way crash left a man and unborn baby dead last week.
Outside Gordons Good Games in Atascadero, a memorial has now been set up for one of the victims.
Cezar Roy, 55, who loved Batman, will no longer be shining his light at Gordons Good Games, the shop he owned.
He just was he was a big teddy bear, said Traffic Records general manager Chad Fortin.
He really tried to build a community, and he really listened to what people in Atascadero wanted, said the owner of Decades HiFi Lounge, Sheldon Furguson.
Fortin and Ferguson knew Roy well – Fergusons bar is right next door to Roys shop and Fortin’s is just two doors down.
Both were getting ready for the day Thursday and setting up shop, a time when Roy would typically be outside doing the same.
People discover, as we go along, where hes missed; its not a general answer, thats for sure, Ferguson said.
Now, with a closed door and a message taped to it explaining Roys absence and only a memorial outside breathing life into the empty storefront, the loss was palpable.
Fortin says when he heard about the tragic crash, he immediately felt the gut-wrenching blow.
I had to pull over on the side of the road and kind of cried in my car for a little bit, he said.
The five-vehicle crash happened the night of Aug. 26 in the southbound lanes of Highway 101 south of the Cuesta Grade.
Roy was in the passenger seat of a Dodge Charger traveling southbound on Highway 101 when California Highway Patrol officers say a wrong-way driver hit the car head-on.
Roy was pronounced dead at the scene.
CHP later confirmed the pregnant driver in the same car lost her baby.
For the Atascadero community, Roys death is leaving more than an empty space in their hearts; its leaving a gaping hole in the community, especially the gaming community he loved and welcomed.
He opened up his shop, hosted gaming nights, hosted specialty gaming nights. He was very community-oriented and had a long future here, Fortin said. Hes gonna be sorely missed.
San Luis Obispo County Jail logs show David Ross was booked on multiple charges, including DUI and two counts of second-degree murder.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office will review the case. A court date for Ross has not yet been set.