An El Monte man was charged with two counts of murder and other felonies for allegedly fleeing police in a stolen vehicle, leading to a crash that killed one of his passengers and an Alhambra police officer last week, according to court records.

Steven Ara Zapata, 27, also faces two counts of fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle causing death and one count of reckless driving with injuries in connection with the Nov. 20 crash, court records show.

His initial appearance in Alhambra Superior Court was tentatively rescheduled for Tuesday as he was still in the hospital, a courtroom clerk said Monday afternoon. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it could be next week before he appears in court.

Zapata allegedly was driving a stolen Hyundai SUV with two passengers inside northbound on Edgewood Drive when he collided with an Alhambra police SUV being driven by Officer Alec Sanders westbound on Valley Boulevard about 3 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol, which was investigating the crash.

The force of the crash sent the SUV into a Weinerschnitzel parking lot on the northwest corner of the intersection, while Sanders’ SUV continued westbound on Valley, shearing a cement pole with a school crossing sign and leaving a debris field nearly a block long toward Primrose Avenue.

Sanders, 28, was rushed to Los Angeles General Medical Center, but died. One of Zapata’s passengers, 42-year-old Gabriela Moreno, was ejected from the SUV into an adjacent alley and died at the scene, authorities said. The second passenger, identified as Felipe Ramirez in a criminal complaint, was hospitalized with major injuries, including at least one bone fracture.

Zapata was hospitalized with moderate injuries.

Sanders had worked for the Alhambra Police Department for eight months at the time of the crash, Alhambra Police Chief Garrett Kennedy said. He previously had served about a year with the Long Beach Police Department.

Sanders, who left behind his fiancee, parents and three siblings, was a fitness enthusiast and Dallas Cowboys fan who loved to travel to new places, Kennedy said.

As an officer, he was remembered for his reliability, dedication and kindness and whose “intelligence, work ethic and steady presence made him a respected partner and friend,” Kennedy said.

Sanders was covering another officer’s shift the night of the pursuit and crash, Kennedy said.

A candlelight vigil for Sanders is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25 at the Alhambra police station, 211 S. First Street, in Alhambra. The vigil is open to the public.