The coroner’s office Sunday released the name of a woman passenger killed when a man allegedly drove an SUV the wrong way on the Ventura (101) Freeway in Encino and crashed head-on into a big rig.
Aimee Garcia was 26-years-old, according to the coroner’s office. Her city of residence was not available.
Los Angeles resident Cesar Iban Torres, 31, was driving the 2003 Lincoln SUV westbound in eastbound lanes with Garcia in front and four juveniles in the vehicle ages 2, 5, 12 and 13, according to California Highway Patrol Officer W. Haver.
He crashed into a 2016 Kenworth big rig just after 7 p.m. Thursday on the Ventura Freeway west of Haskell Avenue, Haver said.
Torres tried to run away from the crash scene, Haver said.
Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene and the children were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, the officer said. “Officers made contact with Torres, where he became combative and a use of force occurred while taking Torres into custody.”’
Torres was treated at a hospital for unspecified injuries before he was booked on suspicion of murder and resisting arrest, and was held on $1 million bail, the CHP reported.
He remained in the Inmate Reception Center, according to sheriff’s inmate records.
The truck driver, 56-year-old Jose Garcia Lopez, of San Diego, complained of pain and was treated at the scene, the CHP reported.
Authorities were investigating whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, the CHP reported.
The crash shut down multiple lanes of the eastbound 101 Freeway for several hours while an investigation was conducted. Anyone with information about the collision was asked to contact the CHP at 818-888-0980.