Bouquets of flowers, dozens of photos, balloons and notes reading 'You'll be missed' surrounded a tree where two Rancho Cucamonga women were killed early Saturday.

Renee Hardy, 20, and Telassie "Lassie" Dague, 22, were passengers in a car that at about 12:44 a.m. crashed into the tree at Foothill Boulevard and Wheeler Avenue. Police have said the man behind the wheel was driving drunk.

"They both always had smiles on their faces," said Jason Peltier, Dague's childhood friend. "They're too young. This kind of stuff is unfortunate."

Peltier, 23, of Upland, set up a vigil on Sunday evening at the crash site. About 70 people attended with flowers and teddy bears in hand.

"Lassie's mother came (Sunday) night. It was nice to see her, and I think being there to see how many people knew and loved Lassie made her feel comfortable," Peltier said.

Dague, a graduate of Alta Loma High School and a student at Chaffey College, and Hardy, an Upland High School graduate, were at Chaparral Lanes bowling alley in La Verne on the evening of the crash, Peltier said.

"It's such a shame. I'm really sad. She was getting her life on track and doing well," he said. "They were both so young."

Alta Loma High band director Brian McNair said he knew Dague while she was in the color guard for four years.

"She had a lot of drive," McNair said. "Her parents lived right by the field where the band and color guard practiced, so she


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grew up listening to it, and one day she walked in and said 'I want to be in color guard."'
Dague and her teammates competed in the Winter Guard Association Championships in 2004, a year before she graduated, McNair said.

"You know, you never think as a director you're going to outlive your student, and when I heard about Lassie, I was just so sad," McNair said.

Alan Michael McConnell, 27, of Covina was booked on suspicion of murder, vehicular manslaughter, felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run, according to a La Verne police news release.

He was not hurt in the crash.

McConnell was driving Dague's car, which was reportedly involved in a minor collision on Foothill Boulevard at Damien Avenue just before the fatal crash less than half a mile to the east, police said.

Tire skid marks on the eastbound side of Foothill lead into the center divider of the skinned tree and bent 'One Way' sign where the car crashed before it crossed into oncoming traffic just west of Wheeler.

McConnell's blood-alcohol level appeared to be over the legal limit, and he failed a field sobriety test, officials said. Police were also looking into the possibility he was under the influence of drugs.

Investigators on Monday had not yet submitted paperwork asking prosecutors to charge McConnell in the deaths of Dague and Hardy, said Los Angeles County district attorney's spokeswoman Shiara Davila.

Records indicate McConnell has had numerous run-ins with the law. An arraignment date for McConnell on a separate Nov. 7 DUI case is at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Pomona Superior Court, Davila said.

One woman died at the scene and the other died at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. Police have not confirmed which woman died at the hospital.

In September 2008, he was convicted of driving with a suspended license in Pomona Superior Court, records show, and he was convicted of marijuana possession in December 2001.