A man accused of causing a head-on collision that killed a boy and seriously injured his three siblings in Riverside while traveling over 100 mph and under the influence of marijuana pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder and other charges.
Andres Laris, 23, of Riverside was arrested Thursday following a roughly yearlong Riverside Police Department investigation.
Along with murder, Laris is charged with three counts of roadway violations resulting in great bodily injury.
He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Walter Kubelun, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Aug. 28 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Laris’ attorney has additionally submitted a motion for bail reduction, and that hearing will take place on the same date.
The defendant is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said Friday that traffic detectives earlier this month concluded an investigation into the collision that killed 8-year-old Obed Liam Barbosa Carbajal of Riverside.
Their findings resulted in sufficient grounds to seek criminal charges, and an arrest warrant was obtained and served on the defendant at his residence on Hershey Way Thursday, according to Railsback.
Critically injured in the collision were Obed’s then-25-year-old sister, Kially Carbajal, and his two siblings, 16-year-old Mario and 10-year-old Kiara.
The latter suffered the most significant injuries — a brain impact, two broken legs and a spinal fracture. She is still recovering. Kially Carbajal suffered a broken arm and foot has since recovered. Mario, who was seated in the front passenger seat of his sister’s car, suffered significant head trauma that required surgery. He has since recovered.
Kially Carbajal was driving her younger siblings to school on the morning of May 16, 2023.
According to police and an investigation by attorneys for the Carbajal family, Laris was driving his 2020 Honda Civic westbound on Arlington Avenue, allegedly going “more than 100 mph” when he lost control at Stover Avenue.
Railsback said he failed to negotiate a bend in the road and “veered into the opposite lanes of traffic due to his high speed” going through the intersection.
“He collided head-on into the 2015 Nissan Sentra, which was traveling east on Arlington,” the police spokesman said.
The collision twisted the two vehicles into a mangled wreck, trapping all of the parties.
Riverside Fire Department crews extricated them a short time later. Obed was pronounced dead at the scene.
Along with the victim’s siblings, Laris was seriously injured and was hospitalized for an unspecified period.
Railsback said investigators decided to pursue a murder charge based on the defendant’s prior conduct, which included two speeding convictions, one of which led to his taking an online traffic safety course that warned “speeding is dangerous because it increases the risk of a crash and decreases the time the driver has to react to avoid a collision.”
The signs of cannabis in his blood after he was hospitalized indicated he was likely under the influence, further justifying criminal charges, according to Railsback.
Laris has no documented prior felony convictions.
The Carbajal family in December announced a lawsuit against the city and the defendant, alleging negligence on the part of both.
The civil action, which is still pending, blames municipal officials, in part, for the wreck because the plaintiffs allege that the city failed to move forward with a plan established in 2015 to install a traffic light and make various other roadway safety improvements at the intersection.
According to the plaintiffs, residents of the area had repeatedly complained about the need for changes. Between 2009 and 2023, there were nearly 30 collisions, including three fatal ones, in the area of Arlington and Stover, according to the suit.
Arlington is a major travel corridor through the western half of the city, and the point of impact was at a roadway curve where speeding is not uncommon.