The driver accused of killing a 37-year-old man and injuring three others in a wreck stemming from drugged driving in downtown Riverside must stand trial for gross vehicular manslaughter and other charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Isaac Isaiah Villalba, 20, of Redlands was arrested in April 2025 after allegedly causing the multi-vehicle collision at the intersection of Market and Fifth streets that claimed the life of Christian Barragan of Riverside.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Wednesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Emma Smith found there was sufficient evidence to bound Villalba over for trial on the manslaughter count, as well as three counts of driving under the influence of drugs resulting in injuries, two counts of resisting arrest and one count of hit-and-run causing death, along with sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegations.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for April 2 and left the defendant’s bail set at $1 million. He’s being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center.
Riverside Police Department Sgt. Emilio Angulo said that in the late afternoon hours of last April 16, the defendant was driving a Dodge Challenger going southbound on Market Street at a “high rate of speed” when he slammed into the rear of a slower moving Honda Civic, pushing the sedan into northbound lanes.
“The Honda collided head-on with a vehicle traveling northbound on Market,” Angulo said. “The Dodge continued and collided with another vehicle as it came to rest.”
Officer Ryan Railsback said Villalba attempted to run away “and resisted officers with violence before being safely taken into custody.” Bystanders captured the confrontation with officers on video, circulated via social media, showing one of the patrolman deploying a stun gun to subdue the defendant.
Barragan, who had been driving the Honda, was taken to Riverside Community Hospital in grave condition. He died from his injuries less than an hour later.
Villalba, two other drivers and a passenger involved in the wreck suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to the same hospital for treatment. The defendant was cleared for booking into jail hours later. The other people who were hospitalized, whose names were not disclosed, have since recovered.
Villalba has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.