A 55-year-old man was behind bars Tuesday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and assault following a crash that killed a toddler who was sitting on a porch in Long Beach.
In addition to the girl who was killed, a woman and a second girl were also struck and injured in the crash, which happened about 11:30 a.m. Monday in the 400 block of Maine Avenue when the driver of an SUV, identified as Lamont Russell, reversed into the group sitting on a porch.
The most seriously injured patient, a year-old girl, was quickly driven to a hospital by Long Beach police, but died, police said. She was later identified by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner as Myrah Hunter.
Long Beach Fire Department paramedics took the woman and the other injured child to a hospital with undetermined injuries. Both had stable life signs, officials said. It was unclear if all three victims were related.
Police said the driver who struck the group was backing up his SUV, possibly trying to turn around, when the vehicle jumped the curb.
The driver remained at the scene and was questioned by police.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate records, he was booked around 11:30 a.m. on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and assault and was being held in lieu of $335,000 bail at the inmate reception center in downtown Los Angeles.
The bail amount includes separate listings for the assault allegation, with bail set at $35,000, and the manslaughter allegation, for which bail is set at $300,000.
Nearby resident Alisa Hill told OnSceneTV that she ran outside after hearing a “blood-curdling” scream, and saw the woman pinned between the vehicle and a wall. She said the young girl had a gash on her leg.
“There was the white car backed up all the way onto someone’s front porch that they were hanging out on,” Hill said.
She said the driver was reversing the vehicle when the crash occurred.
“You know sometimes you switch pedals? Instead of braking, he gassed, and he gassed it enough and pinned that person up against, in between the wall and the car,” she said. “They chill on the porch a lot.”