Service Saturday for Phoenix officer killed in crash

A memorial service will be held Saturday for a Phoenix police officer who died in a collision involving a suspected drunken driver who was in the country illegally.

The service for Officer Shane Figueroa will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mormon church's Red Mountain Institute in Mesa, with burial to follow at City of Mesa Cemetery.

Figueroa, 25, was responding to a ``shots fired'' call west of downtown Phoenix early last Saturday when a pickup truck slammed into his patrol car.

Figueroa, who had served less than three years on the force, is survived by his wife and 3-month-old baby. His father is a retired Phoenix police officer.

Phoenix police said Tuesday that a fund for Figueroa's wife and child has been set up at M & I Bank in the name of Melisha or Kenzlie Figueroa. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the 100 Club, which helps fallen officers and firefighters.

Court documents have revealed more about the driver of the pickup which slammed into Figueroa's patrol car.

Suspected illegal immigrant Salvador Vivas-Diaz has had several brushes with the law for DUI. Court documents also show Vivas-Diaz admitted to drinking prior to the accident that killed Officer Shane Figueroa early Saturday morning.

He was also seen urinating on the side of the road after the accident.

Vivas-Diaz was arrested by the Tempe Police Department in May 2004. Since 1998, he has voluntarily returned to Mexico three times. He was deported on June 29, 2004 following an arrest by DPS in Pinal County.

There were warrants for his arrest in both Tempe and Pinal County for aforementioned run-ins with police.

In addition, Vivas-Diaz has gone by the names Jose Vivas Gonzalez and Jose Salvador Gonzalez while in the U.S.

"We feel bad that it happened, for the family. But I feel like the gentleman, what they do with him, whatever they do with him, he's got it coming. You can't go around taking a life and not be responsible for what you do," said Mrs. Esparza, who lives next door to the suspect.

They believe Vivas-Diaz is a good man, but has a drinking problem. "I feel very bad for the officer. He was on his way to do his duty then something like this has to come up," says Mrs. Esparza.

"This is the way I feel, anybody who takes someone else's life should pay for it," said Mr. Esparza.

The couple said they know the suspect as Jose not Salvador, and that he owns a business in Phoenix.

They said Vivas-Diaz lives in Phoenix with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren.