Two drivers were in the midst of a speed contest in Westminster when one of the vehicles spun out of control and slammed into a sedan going the other way, killing the sister of one of the street racers, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.
Jorel Dayoan, 22, and Joshua Lautherboren, 26, are charged with gross vehicular manslaughter and engaging in a speed contest causing injury, both felonies. Lautherboren also faces a charge of leaving the scene of the April 5, 2012, crash.
The two, who did not know each other, pulled up to the same intersection at Hoover and Main streets about 5 p.m. that day, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker.
The defendants did “a rapid stop” and then raced southbound down Hoover Avenue, getting up to 75 mph in a 40 mph-zone within a half-mile before Dayoan lost control of his Toyota MR2 at Hazard Avenue, Walker said.
The MR2 slammed into a northbound Honda Accord driven by Boris Sikar, who broke his collarbone in the collision that killed Dayoan’s 18-year-old sister, Jessica Dayoan, the prosecutor said.
A witness is expected to testify that Lautherboren, who was driving a pickup truck, was “flying” before the crash, Walker said. Another witness told investigators the defendants appeared to be racing, Walker said.
The pickup truck slowed down before the MR2 spun out, and the driver left the scene, Walker said. A witness followed the truck and snapped a photo, which led investigators to Lautherboren, who told customers at a No Limit Motorsports store about the crash and said he thought a “girl” had been killed, she said.
Investigators also have video of the crash obtained from Southern California Edison, Walker said.
When Dayoan was pulled from the wreckage, he was wearing a shirt with cars on it, and 25 of 86 photos on his cell phone involved his sports car, the prosecutor said.
“You will see evidence that he is fixated on cars and racing,” Walker said.
Lautherboren initially told police he didn’t see the collision, contradicting what he told customers at the auto supply store, Walker said. He said he was angry that Dayoan would not let him change lanes, according to the prosecutor.
When police confronted him with video showing he was driving up to 75 mph, Lautherboren said his speed ranged from 62 to 72, Walker said.
“These two were flooring it,” the prosecutor said.
Dayoan’s attorney, Celeste Mulrooney, said Westminster police did a “very thorough investigation,” but could not prove her client was racing.
“The evidence is going to show an accident. Speeding, yes, but racing, no,” Mulrooney said.
“Continously calling it racing, racing and racing doesn’t make it right,” the defense attorney said. “I’m confident that you will see it as a tragic accident and nothing else.”
Lautherboren’s attorney, William Elliott, declined to make an opening statement, preferring to do so later in the trial.
— City News Service