Pregnant woman among 3 killed in Eagle Rock crash; street racing blamed

[luisgonz]

By Tami Abdollah and Jia-Rui Chong, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
11:01 AM PDT, August 28, 2008
» Discuss Article (18 Comments)

An illegal street race Wednesday night in Eagle Rock killed three people, including a pregnant woman and a 12 year-old girl, and severed limbs from two men after their car slammed into a tree and burst into flames, police said.

A 19-year-old man who was driving a Mitsubishi involved in the crash was in custody this morning, Los Angeles police Officer Kate Lopez said today. He was uninjured. A police spokeswoman earlier said the man had been booked on suspicion of murder, but police now say he is still be interviewed.



* Pregnant woman among 3 killed in Eagle Rock crash; street racing blamed
Pregnant woman among 3 killed in Eagle...
* Scene of wreck
Scene of wreck

*
3 killed, 5 hurt in crash in El Monte
*
Teen lives with tragic end of street race

Police are searching today for another driver they believe was involved in street racing but who fled after the crash, Lopez said.

The crash occurred at Highland View Avenue and Colorado Boulevard about 10:30 p.m. A witness said he saw the Mitsubishi hit a Nissan Maxima, which police believe also was involved in racing. The Nissan, with five people inside, then slammed into a tree on Colorado Boulevard's median and caught fire, Lopez said.

Three men who were ejected from the Nissan landed in the street: a 20-year-old man, who died at the scene; a man whose hand and leg were severed, and another man whose leg was severed at the hip. The two survivors were taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and are listed in critical condition, said LAPD Officer April Harding, another department spokeswoman.

Inside the Nissan was the 12-year-old girl, who was in the back seat, and the 23-year-old late-term pregnant woman, who was found dead in the driver's seat, Harding said.

Los Angeles County coroner's officials said they did not have identifications on the deceased yet.

Colorado Boulevard was closed for about eight hours and officers were still on the scene today as morning traffic rolled over glass and plastic parts from the cars. The tree that the Nissan had hit had blood and scraped bark left on it, and the car looked like a crushed soda can as it was towed away.

John Chavez, 38, who lives nearby, said he heard a "loud thump" at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, went outside and saw "blood and debris everywhere." He saw a "torso" in the middle of the street, another person on the pavement screaming for help, and a woman stuck in the twisted wreckage.

"It was the worst accident I've ever seen," Chavez said. "It was carnage."

Daniel Gutierrez, 54, a homeless man who was sleeping a block up the street, said he awoke when he heard "a boom, like an explosion" as the Mitsubishi hit the Nissan. The Nissan careened out of control, fishtailing in the street and hitting the tree, where it exploded in flames, he said.

"I went over there, but it was too late," Gutierrez said.

The Mitsubishi drove farther up the street, made a U-turn around the center divider and stopped nearby, he said. Someone got out to help, but it was too late, he said.

Martha Emery, 50, who lives behind a gas station on Highland View Avenue, was going to bed when she heard a huge crash, the sound of an explosion and skidding. She ran out of her home and saw the Mitsubishi driving in the wrong direction slowly down the south sidewalk, where it hit a lamp post before it came to a stop.

"Some car was wrapped around the tree," Emery said. "As I approached it on the street, there was a body motionless. I knew he was dead."

She saw the severed body of a man. A woman, whom she didn't initially see, was crumpled in what looked to be a "pile of rubble." And then she heard moaning.

"I didn't want to get that close, but I saw there were some legs left in the car and I looked, and the other half of them was on the street."

Her 9-year-old daughter, Dakota Emery, had run out of the house behind her, and went back to get her dad, Frank Emery, 61.

"I'm scared Dad," she told him. "I'm really sorry I saw it. I'm never going to drive."

"These things happen, you're going to drive," he said to her. "But be careful."


THis is really sad, But I wonder. Why was a Prego racing in the first place with 4 others in the car.:confused:

[g6civcx]

Why was a Prego racing in the first place with 4 others in the car.:confused:

Sometimes you just have to race.

We will probably never know what happened.

[luisgonz]

Sometimes you just have to race.

We will probably never know what happened.

I saw this on the news and They said they had to take down a Bill board sign for the up coming "Death Race" Movie. How fucked up is that.

[stiizy]

Wow thats a crazy story...

Anyone here local to that location??

[stiizy]

Death Race literally

[Blurryeyes]

Racing with a kid on the backseat? and a pregnant woman as the driver? maybe she wasn´t racing, she was running from something/someone along with the other 3 guys

[all show no go]

Wow, talk about senseless acts..

it sure is a shame, but fuck.. youre pregnant, why are you racing?? :ugh:

dang i hate hearing things like this are still happening.

[zilvia_brothers]

i swa this when i was coming home last night...my cousin said that the site was pretty bad...now theres gonna be more cops rolling around eagle rock

edit: a friend told me that the ppl that died had guns on them

[azndoc]

That is really sad.

Just stupid shit.

[luisgonz]

i swa this when i was coming home last night...my cousin said that the site was pretty bad...now theres gonna be more cops rolling around eagle rock

edit: a friend told me that the ppl that died had guns on them

Really, Now thats really Death Race at its best.

[IdriveaNissan]

*sigh* damn ricers... now i bet the cops are gonna be more anal. i got nothing to worry about cuz i dont speed, but its the bs stuff that gets you.

[HyperTek]

probably more to it besides street racing...like maybe she was being chased?? they did say the cars hit each other and the maxi lost it into the tree..

sad, reminds me of the movie death proof when kurt russels character causes the accident and the girl who had her leg out the window gets sliced off.

Choose who you ride with carefully. even friends cant be trusted sometimes.

[ronmcdon]

I wonder how they reached the conclusion that this was street racing and not something else like road rage or gang violence? Doesn't make sense to be street racing someone, when you have like 5 ppl in the car including a kid and a pregnant lady. all of the dudes having guns in their cars make it seem a bit more complicated too.

earlier this year, in a road rage situation (guy tried to cut me off, but I didn't let him) I had some maniac m3 driver pull a gun and fire at me. i seriously considered slamming my car on him too at one point to avoid getting killed myself. in the heat of the situation, I decided and managed to outdrive him instead. it might not have been the best thing to do, but it was all i could think of at the time. regrettably, the same accident could have happened here too. again, too many guns and hot-heads here.

I see far more road rage than i do street racing.

[Mr. Camshaft]

if it's eagle rock, it's filipino dudes for sure

[HyperTek]

u know dam well the dude in the mitsu was chasing em, and since the people died, he probably tryin to play it off as random street racing instead

[Johnson_ZXTT]

I wonder how they reached the conclusion that this was street racing and not something else like road rage or gang violence? Doesn't make sense to be street racing someone, when you have like 5 ppl in the car including a kid and a pregnant lady. all of the dudes having guns in their cars make it seem a bit more complicated too.

earlier this year, I had some maniac m3 driver pull a gun and fire at me too. i seriously considered slamming my car on him too at one point to avoid getting killed myself. it's scary how many ppl have guns in their cars here in los angeles.

I was thinking that exact same thing... it seems like anytime they get a chance to, accidents are blamed on street racing.

[HyperTek]

street racing is the cause of everything in cali, infant deaths, smog, aids, gang violence etc. lol jk

[shmiddy]

god damn thats a sad ass story... damn ppl really need to stop this bull shit. its one thing to race, but to race on the street, with other ppls lives at risk is just insanity

[24Ochick<3]

Wow thats a crazy story...

Anyone here local to that location??

i grew up in el monte; no offense, but there's nothin but noob's or lil ass boys driving ricer cars, assuming they can race to be cool, pull stupid crap like this and end up with similar outcomes. people like that deserve to be shot in the legg ;) for giving us careful people; badd names.:spank:

[Ninjabread]

haha street racing ...

probably just going a bit too fast and somehow they hit each other.

Stupid cops. Hey this 80 year old granny hit a tree, she must have been street racing.

[wangan_cruiser]

Choose who you ride with carefully. even friends cant be trusted sometimes.



damn right man. i will only feel safe if im the one who's holding the wheel. unless i know the person is a really safe driver

[zilvia_brothers]

i just drove by the site where the accident happened and theres 3 cops cars patrolling around the area and a bike cop catching ppl speeding with his radar gun

i saw a tree where there was a chunk that was ripped off and dried blood

[Om1kron]

why does it have to be street racing, how do they know it's not a case of road rage and the lady was trying to escape from the other car that my have been following them?

[Dutchmalmiss]

Yeah I heard a gang of sirens last night before I slept. Turned on the news this morning and found out about it. I hope it wasn't someone I know.

[Taniguchi_Is_#1]

while they might want to play the "innocent pregnant woman dies in street racing incident" angle, how does that work if she was the driver? the additional details also don't quite add up. iono, california media must've busted out the old "jump to conclusions" mat and landed on street racing.

[TravisSW]

Yeah, I think something was up too.

Nothing seems to add up right to lead to street racing besides the wreck, besides that. Preg lady, 12 year old child and 2-3 cars involved and other drivers where all males? Something's wrong here.

I seriously hope that Eagle Rock PD thinks of this.

[azndoc]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/office_space_kit_mat.jpg

[CrimsonRockett]

God damn.

For some odd reason, my fucked up mind wants to see pictures of the severed bodies.

Not of the pregnant woman. That's just terrible.

RIP

:(

[kdashy]

That sucks, just a couple miles from me too.

I was reading the story thinking I was misreading something, and that a pregnant woman with 4 other people in the car couldn't possibly be the one racing.

[ravinaziankid]

Why do any police work when you can just blame it on street racing? I wonder what the statistics are for pregnant street racers are and their pregnant street racing crew?

[HyperTek]

damn right man. i will only feel safe if im the one who's holding the wheel. unless i know the person is a really safe driver

yah man i wont lie i had friends who screwed up thier dri vers license or no insurance and ride with em without thinking why am i even riding with em.

but as far as street racing, it could also be mis-information by the media.... cops could say street racing to build fear in the community or hide the truth who knows..

[vvtisupra]

this story sounds wack. Doesn't make sense and has random content like the child telling her dad she never wants to drive? WTF. Articles suck so bad, sometimes I think people make up stories.

Is it just me or does this article seem like its grasping for detail just to make the story more rivetting? Severred torso ? Pregnant lady, and a child ? Car caught on fire but an old lady who happens to live around the corner walks up to the car to see a body ?

[Mi Beardo es Loco]

If there were guns involved why did they push it off on street racing? I seen pictures of the eclipse and it looked 100% stock. No rims, no exhaust, no stickers. Any reasonable person would see those pictures and the type of people that were "racing" and draw a conclusion that it couldn't have been racing. There was def some sort of foul play involved and I HOPE the true story gets out. If it was sort of road rage I guarantee you, we won't hear about it anymore. It's just sad how the media spins things.

[SexPanda]

i think maybe the maxima wasnt street racing, but the mitsubishi was. The wording looks like it can go either way.

Yet another reason I dont street race... That and my cars slow as shit.

[blasting_speed]

OMG dude did a 6 year old write that article??? Jeez.

Anyway, I heard about this in the morning. That sucks dude. I've always frowned upon street racing. Its the dumbest thing you can do in your car. Especially if you have a pregnant woman in the car with you. That's super irresponsible. IDK, if they were actually street racing though. I mean, would you do that with a car full of people???

I feel sorry for the family of the victims too. I can't begin to imagine how it must feel to loose a daughter while she's pregnant.

[1five10]

if it's eagle rock, it's filipino dudes for sure
WTF Maybe they should just arrest all "filipino dudes" then. Since you're from Glendale, you must be Armenian, right?

What a sad story, regardless of what race they are.

[Mi Beardo es Loco]

i think maybe the maxima wasnt street racing, but the mitsubishi was. The wording looks like it can go either way.

Yet another reason I dont street race... That and my cars slow as shit.
that's what I got from the news this morning. It sounded like the Maxima was just the victim and 2 cars were seen swerving in and out of traffic while one fled the scene. The Mitsu was one of the cars racing and slammed into the innocent Maxima. That's what it sounded like to me and it makes more sense, but makes me feel so sorry for the victims and their families. RIP. I hope the Mitsu driver and everyone involved the death penalty or a LONNNNNNG prison stay.

[shishcabobers]

so terrible..........

[94cc0rd]

here's another article...
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_10325907?nclick_check=1

[deolio]

why does it have to be street racing, how do they know it's not a case of road rage and the lady was trying to escape from the other car that my have been following them?

because they were driving a nissan and a mitsubishi, two of paul walker's favorite rides:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/2690977854_28cf2a637c.jpg?v=0

http://tunedx.com/pics/crDkd2eiiXeyxOdetltRny.jpg

they had guns too:

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/G/f/f/7/runningscaredtrailer.jpg

not trying to make a joke out of this terrible accident, but those cops are fucking jokes. what kind of a soon-to-be mother would street race with 5 people in the car? unless they find crack in her toxicology report i say b(fuckin)s.

[enkei2k]

pregnant lady driver + full car with 5 passengers + fwd maxima + racing = epic fail.

sorry to hear though seriously...why that lady would think of doing something so silly is beyond me. this story doesn't seem to add up...definitely worth another look. unless she was peer pressured by the passengers (why?) i doubt that she would be street racing...but then again, i don't know.

[94cc0rd]

well there were 3 cars involved, 1 which fled the scene. So it could have been the mitsubishi and the other car were racing which caused the nissan to crash..?

that's my take on it...

[techtrix]

today on the radio they said it might have been road rage...

[YoungGun]

So sad.

I would also say it was road rage over street racing.

[ronmcdon]

today on the radio they said it might have been road rage...

not surprised. that's far more plausible.

[Matej]

What's with Maximas and Altimas catching on fire?

[Vision Garage]

I blame everything on communism. i blame street racing on communism too!

[wangan_cruiser]

2 cars crashed. both of them are japanese cars


cops will most likely sayd



OH THEY DO STREET RACING just to let it go and lessen the investigation.

[rb25_s13*CHUKI]

if it's eagle rock, it's filipino dudes for sure


Ignorant fuck... Who cares what race It was! It's a sad story. My cousin knew the drive and the family. So cause It's eagle rock they are flip huh wow. So since your from glendale and obviously there are lots of armenians there that means you must be right? Here you go

YouTube - Armenian Pride- Brow Down - Glendale California


No offense to any other armenian here!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znf_nqW8IZ8)

[RiversideS13]

this is tragedy.....the accident scenes sounds like hell. i am guessing the maxima is a gen1 maxima because sounds like it made out of a tint can.

i agreed nowadays cops would just assuming high speed car accidents are all street racing

[thefro526]

Regardless of if it's street racing or not, it's still a very sad story to hear. I'm believe that when people are in the car with you that you should be a much safer driver because they can't tell you what to do and not to do and just cuz you want to race some punk kid doesn't mean that they want to aswell.

[Phaze*2_Mizzark]

Ignorant fuck... Who cares what race It was! It's a sad story. My cousin knew the drive and the family. So cause It's eagle rock they are flip huh wow. So since your from glendale and obviously there are lots of armenians there that means you must be right? Here you go

YouTube - Armenian Pride- Brow Down - Glendale California


No offense to any other armenian here!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znf_nqW8IZ8)

haha, thanks Ant. I was gonna be like, dude.. you're from Glendale, hence you're Armenian. I'm from Glendale and I'm Filipino. Your analogy is incorrect man. Anyways, i was at starbucks about 3 blocks away from the accident and all of a sudden all the cops that chill at starbucks took off and choppers came and more cops flew down colorado. It was insane. my buddies went down to the site to check it out, but i really didnt wanna see what was going on. all i know is that supposedly 1 person had their bones coming out from the side of their body, there were intestines all over the place, somebody was missing the lower half of their body, and some fool ran away. Colorado Blvd is a street where pretty much everybody and their momma's drive over 35mph. most people get road rage on colorado when you drive speed limit, especially around that area where the accident happened. hopefully people learn to slow down and take it easy. gas isn't cheap so help you help yourself. my prayers go out to the families of the people that passed and were affected in this tragedy.

"the greater the speed, the faster the death.."
^^been saying that to my friend since high school.. his eyes never open up to the meaning though.. hopefully it gets through to some of the you that just need to slow down so you dont cause something like this to happen. no offense to those of you who drive fast, but just think of how it would be to lose a family member, a friend, a lover. take it slow. keep racing on the track, although i doubt this was a street race. just drive safely people. have a good day.

Mark

[ronmcdon]

That truly is terrible. Now I can understand why in some parts of Europe (germany?) they throw in the gory pics into the news. It really gives you the first hand accounts of how horrifying criminal related catastrophes can end up like. it might serve to discourage other would be offenders.