The driver of a dump truck that collided with an LAPD cruiser in Beverly Hills last year, killing a veteran training officer, was charged Monday with gross vehicular manslaughter.
Robert Maldonado, a 47-year-old Pacoima resident who owns a dump truck company, was arrested Friday and released Saturday on $50,000 bail. He is set to be arraigned March 20, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck today thanked the California Highway Patrol for conducting the nearly yearlong investigation into Officer Nicholas Choung Lee’s death.
“This was a terrible tragedy and the Los Angeles Police Department thanks the CHP for all their efforts throughout this investigation,” Beck said. “We hope this arrest can bring some small piece of closure to the family. Officer Nick Lee was a great cop and a great man.”
Prosecutors allege Maldonado failed to properly maintain and inspect the truck. The vehicle’s brakes failed on March 7, 2014, near Robert Lane and Loma Vista Drive, and it struck the police cruiser carrying Lee and a female probationary officer.
Lee, a 16-year veteran of the department, was pronounced dead at the scene. His partner, who was just three months out of the police academy, was hospitalized and released the next day.
Lee had worked assignments in the Van Nuys, Wilshire and Hollywood areas for the LAPD. The 40-year-old officer’s funeral service drew hundreds of mourners, including Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Jerry Brown.
Beck said the officer would not be forgotten.
“The LAPD is forever grateful for the 16 years he spent protecting our great city,” the chief said. “We will never forget him or his sacrifice.”
If convicted, Maldonado faces up to six years in prison.
— City News Service