[symple_googlemap title=”2800 block of South Central Avenue” location=”2800 block of South Central Avenue” height=”300″ zoom=”15″]
A 28-year-old man involved in a crash that sent a vehicle careening into a South Los Angeles apartment building where a sleeping 5-year-old boy was killed has turned himself in and is facing felony hit-and- run charges, police said Monday.
The boy’s parents and three of his siblings were injured in the crash, which happened about 12:15 a.m. on Dec. 1 in the 2800 block of South Central Avenue, near Adams Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Traffic Division.
Video from area surveillance cameras revealed that Los Angeles resident Jorge Ruiz-Garcia got into his parked vehicle, which was facing north along the east curb, started it up and made a U-turn directly into the path of an oncoming 2012 Chevrolet Cruz driven by 23-year-old Vrenda Moreno of La Puente, police said.
“There was contact between the two vehicles which caused the front grill of the turning vehicle to become dislodged,” according to the police statement. “The Chevy Cruz continued in a northwesterly direction and collided into the apartment building. The hit-and-run driver stopped briefly then fled the scene southbound on Central Avenue.”
The crash caused fatal injuries to Luis Sanchez, who was sleeping inside his family’s apartment. Among the crash debris, investigators found a note he had written to Santa asking for a new bicycle.
“The boy’s parents suffered severe injuries consisting of various bone fractures,” police said. “Three other children, a 16-year-old boy, and two girls, ages 13 and 6 years old, suffered minor injuries that were not life threatening.”
All five were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
Moreno sustained minor injuries and was also taken to a hospital.
“She was found to be under the influence of alcohol and arrested for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence,” police said.
Moreno “was released from custody after detectives discovered the actual cause of the collision” and “still faces criminal charges for her involvement,” according to the LAPD.
Ruiz-Garcia, meanwhile, turned himself in on Friday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was released on $100,000 bond.
Investigators identified him after determining the vehicle grill belonged to a 1996 Saab with a registered owner who lived near the crash scene, police said.
Ruiz-Garcia has been charged with one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He faces a possible four-year prison sentence.
Moreno’s case remains under investigation, prosecutors say.
–City News Service