Author name: CCAR Staff

Pomona police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run crash after two cars struck a man crossing the street Tuesday but only one driver stopped.

Around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called to the area of Temple Avenue and South Campus Drive for a person hit by a car, according to a police statement. There they found an unidentified man who had been hit and was in very serious condition.

Paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department provided medical treatment, but the man’s injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.

Through an investigation, officers learned that the man was struck by two different vehicles as he crossed the roadway. The driver of the first vehicle remained at the location and is cooperating with the police investigation, officials said. The driver of the second vehicle, however, fled the scene. Witnesses describe the second vehicle as a small, older, dark-gray vehicle.

The fatal incident is under investigation by the Pomona Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team. Anyone with any information about the collision is encouraged to call the Traffic Services Bureau at 909-620-2081.

— Staff report

As tributes to late Verizon Indy Car Series driver Justin Wilson continue to be paid, there is an added urgency to enclose the cockpits of open-wheel cars.

Wilson died Monday night after sustaining a serious head injury in Sunday’s IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway. Wilson was hit by a piece of debris that flew off the car driven by Sage Karem after it crashed. After being struck by the nose cone of Karem’s car, Wilson’s car veered into an inside wall. He was taken out and airlifted to a hospital in a coma.

The talk of an enclosed cockpit — already in use by the National Hot Road Association’s Top Fuel dragsters and by drag racing boats — came to the forefront at a subdued winner’s press conference Sunday as Ryan Hunter-Reay addressed the issue.

“These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed,” Hunter-Reay said. “Maybe in the future we can work toward some type of (canopy). We’ve seen some concept renderings of something that resembles a canopy, not a full jet fighter canopy, but something that can give us a little protection but keep the tradition of the sport.”

On Tuesday, Motorsports.com reported FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), the international sanctioning body, plans to hold new closed-cockpit tests next month. FIA first started work on the project in 2009 following crashes involving Henry Surtees and Felipe Massa. Surtees was killed by a loose wheel and, a week later, Massa was severely injured by a spring.

The idea of enclosed cockpits is not a new concept. More than 30 years ago, drag racer Don “Big Daddy” Garlits stunned the sport by introducing an enclosed driver area in his Top Fuel dragster. That was followed by the late Gary Ormsby in his radical streamliner, but neither made it into competition due to weight issues.

In addition to weight, among the immediate open-wheel concerns are that a driver’s movement and vision could be restricted. Furthermore, there are a number of drivers who have privately voiced fear of being trapped if a car is upside down or on fire. There’s also a concern about a lack of peripheral vision.

Unsaid, but a major thought nonetheless, is that open cockpits have a long history in the sport and are viewed as part of the sport. Yet, driver safety is at the root of the current discussion.

It will not be a cheap conversion. In drag racing, the canopies added weight (currently about 30 pounds), costs ($12,000) and a thorough overhaul of the $250,000 chassis that included new seats, padding and a fire extinguishing system.

Graham Rahal, who won the MAV TV 500 in June at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, is one of a few series drivers who are familiar with the drag racing canopy. He’s engaged to NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force, whose sister Brittany is in an enclosed dragster. Rahal has said that system wouldn’t work for IndyCar, due to its construction. Nonetheless, he wants to explore the option.

“With our risk of hitting fences and walls, I’d be concerned about that thing popping open when you don’t want it to,” Rahal told USA Today this week. “We’d have to be more creative.”

Then there’s the length of the event. A drag race may last 20 seconds in total time, while a 500-mile race, such as the Fontana event, lasted just under three hours.

“You can’t bake in there. We have to think how we’d (design) it and build it,” said Rahal.

Of the five current drag racers who use the canopies, three drive for Don Schumacher Racing. Tony Schumacher was the first NHRA racer who competed with it, while Antron Brown has twice escaped injury with the enclosure. The first time was at the 2014 Winternationals in Pomona.

In May of this year at Atlanta, Brown again credited the canopy for surviving.

“(The wing) headed right back at me and hit the canopy,” Brown said at the time. “It hit so hard that it buckled it but didn’t break it. I was going 315 mph at the time.

“If the canopy hadn’t been there to stop the wing, it would have hit me in the head. I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you today.”

Escaping such threats are what convinced Tony Schumacher to use the device, originally engineered by crew chief Mike Green and James Brendel, owner of Hondo Boats and Brendel Safety Capsules in Riverside.

“That’s the exact reason I use it,” Schumacher said to USA Today of Wilson’s injury. “I don’t know what’s coming off the car next to me, what’s coming out of the stands. I don’t know if I’m going to hit a bird. I’ve hit three birds. I’m going 330 mph and if (the bubble) can deflect it in some way, I’d like it to do that.

“I’ll say it for the millionth time: I’m glad it’s not mandatory, but I’m surprised everyone doesn’t use it. I wouldn’t drive a car without it.”

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials today submitted their investigation of a fatal Malibu traffic crash involving Caitlyn Jenner to the District Attorney’s Office, which will determine if a criminal case is warranted.

The District Attorney’s Major Crimes Division will review the potential case against Jenner, according to Greg Risling of the District Attorney’s Office.

Sheriff’s officials said last week their investigation determined that Jenner, then known as Bruce Jenner, was driving at an unsafe speed when the Feb. 7 collision occurred on Pacific Coast Highway near Corral Canyon Road. Sheriff’s officials said Jenner was not speeding, but was driving at an unsafe speed for the road conditions.

• PHOTOS: The Jenner crash scene in Malibu

The investigation could potentially lead to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, but prosecutors will have the final say on what charge, if any, is warranted.

Surveillance video of the crash released in July appears to show the ex-Olympian rear-ending a white Lexus, which is forced into oncoming traffic and slams into an oncoming Hummer, killing the Lexus driver.

Relatives of the Lexus driver, 69-year-old Kim Howe, have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Jenner, who was not injured in the crash and now identifies as a woman.

Jenner, 65, was driving a Cadillac Escalade, hauling an off-road vehicle on a trailer. Shortly after the crash, authorities said it appeared that Howe’s Lexus had crashed into a black Toyota Prius whose driver had slowed or stopped for unknown reasons, prompting Jenner to rear-end the Lexus, pushing it into the path of the Hummer.

The video released in July appeared to show Jenner rear-ending the Lexus, pushing it into oncoming traffic, then striking the Prius, which was driven by Hollywood talent manager Jessica Marie Steindorff. Steindorff has also sued Jenner over the crash.

A sheriff’s official told the Los Angeles Times that Steindorff was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash, and she could face a criminal charge.

Jenner’s attorney, Philip Boesch, told City News Service in July he believes the surveillance video weighs in Jenner’s favor and confirmed that the crash “was simply a tragic accident.”

Shortly after the February crash, Jenner released a statement saying, “My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loves ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident. It’s a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible.”

LOS ANGELES — A former armored truck driver for Loomis was sentenced today to almost five years in federal prison for orchestrating the theft of more than $1 million in cash, part of a shipment he was transporting for Bank of America in Los Angeles last year.

Cesar Yanez, 38, of Fontana, pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy and bank larceny charges in connection with the robbery on June 27, 2014.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II said that since only $115,000 of the stolen $1 million has been recovered, Yanez is “likely aware of the whereabouts” of the remaining cash.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Yanez was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $970,000 in restitution.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Rhoades, Yanez and fellow Loomis driver Aldo Vega, 28, of Pomona were transporting a multimillion-dollar shipment of cash for Bank of America when they stopped in a parking lot on West Adams Boulevard.

Vega electronically opened the rear doors of the armored car, which allowed Yanez to access the cash storage area of the vehicle, Rhoades said.

Yanez then took about $1 million in cash from the armored car and placed it into a trash can that had allegedly been left in the parking by his wife, Leticia Yanez, who picked up the can afterwards and recovered the stolen money, federal prosecutors stated.

Later, family friend Jovita Guzman, 40, of San Bernardino delivered some of the stolen money to Vega, Rhoades said.

During search warrants executed at the Yanez home and elsewhere, agents found about $115,000 in cash, the prosecutor said.

Vega pleaded guilty to his part in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

Leticia Yanez and Guzman are scheduled to stand trial in October.

According to Rhoades, the FBI received a tip, leading to an undercover operation that resulted in the arrests last November.

Quoting from a probation report, Wright said that Cesar Yanez grew up in Compton with 11 brothers and sisters. He has been married for almost 18 years and the couple have three children.

The judge said that the wife is currently receiving unemployment and food stamps and is “struggling” to make ends meet.

Officials said the investigation into the missing cash is continuing.

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has died from a head injury suffered when a piece of debris struck him at Pocono Raceway. He was 37.

IndyCar made the announcement on Monday night at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Wilson is a British driver who lived outside Denver in Longmont, Colorado. He was hit in the head during Sunday’s race by piece of debris that had broken off another car. Wilson’s car veered into an interior wall at the track, and he was swiftly taken by helicopter to a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The last IndyCar driver to die because of an on-track incident was Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas after his head hit a post when his car went airborne.

“Justin’s elite ability to drive a race car was matched by his unwavering kindness, character and humility — which is what made him one of the most respected members of the paddock,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., the parent company of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After Wheldon’s death, Wilson became one of three driver representatives to serve as a liaison between the competitors and IndyCar. It was no surprise: The 6-foot-4 Wilson, easily the tallest in the series, was well liked by everyone in the series.

He won seven times over 12 seasons in open-wheel racing and finished as high as fifth in the Indianapolis 500. An acclaimed sports car racer, Wilson won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona with Michael Shank Racing, and he competed in 20 Formula One races in 2003 before moving to the U.S. to join Champ Car.

He finished third in the Champ Car standings in 2005, and was runner-up in both 2006 and 2007. To support his career, his management team in 2003 created a program that allowed fans to invest in the driver. Hundreds of people bought shares in Wilson, who was dyslexic and a strong supporter of foundations related to the disorder.

Wilson, a native of Sheffield, England, entered this season without a full-time ride. He latched on with Andretti Autosport and was in the sixth of seven scheduled races with the team. The agreement began as a two-race deal for events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and then was increased to the final five races of the year. The IndyCar season concludes Sunday in Sonoma, California.

Wilson finished a season-best second at Mid-Ohio in early August. He said after the race that he raced clean and did not take any risks that would have jeopardized eventual race-winner Graham Rahal because Rahal was part of the championship race and Wilson was not.

Wilson broke a bone in his back at Mid-Ohio in 2011. He missed the final six races of the season and wore a back brace for more than two months while he was restricted from any physical activity. The injury kept him out of the season finale at Las Vegas, the race where Wheldon died. He also broke his pelvis and suffered a bruised lung in the 2013 season finale at Fontana.

Wilson once said that his injuries and Wheldon’s death did nothing to change his perspective or make him question his career choice.

“You’ve got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable,” Wilson told The Associated Press upon his return to racing in 2012. “To me, it’s acceptable. But I’m not going to stop trying to improve it. All the drivers, this IndyCar, we’re always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it’s a race car. We’re racing hard, we’re racing IndyCars and it’s fast. When it goes wrong, it can get messy.”

In addition to his wife, Julia, Wilson has two daughters, 7 and 5. His younger brother, Stefan, is also an IndyCar driver.

Ryan Hunter-Reay won the crash-filled IndyCar ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, where the focus was on an accident involving Andretti Autosport teammate Justin Wilson.

Wilson was airlifted out of the track with a head injury after he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off Sage Karam’s car when Karam spun into the wall. Wilson’s car veered left and directly into an interior wall.

Wilson was swarmed by the safety crew and airlifted by helicopter from the track. IndyCar gave no details of his injuries beyond confirming the British driver sustained a head injury.

“It’s just a tough one right now,” said Michael Andretti, car owner for both Wilson and Hunter-Reay. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Justin right now. We’re going to see. Hopefully he’s OK.”

Karam was taken to a hospital with an injury to his right foot.

IndyCar had a subdued victory lane and Hunter-Reay was not sprayed with the traditional confetti.

The American said his thoughts were only with Wilson, an extremely popular driver in the paddock who speaks on behalf of his peers regarding safety and competition.

“All I know is that he was unconscious, he was not responding and he was airlifted,” Hunter-Reay said. “That’s all very bad. I’m very worried right now.”

The race resumed after the accident with seven laps remaining and Hunter-Reay picked his way through the field. He passed Juan Pablo Montoya, Takuma Sato and then used a bold inside pass of leader Gabby Chaves to take the lead with five to go. Chaves then appeared to have an engine failure that brought out the caution with three to go. The race ended under yellow.

Josef Newgarden was second and IndyCar points leader Juan Pablo Montoya finished third.

Graham Rahal, who was second in the standings at the start of the race, was involved in an early crash. Montoya’s cushion went from nine points to 35 with next Sunday’s finale in Sonoma set to decide the title.

The finale is worth double points, and six drivers will head to California in contention for the title. Hunter-Reay is mathematically eliminated, but picked up his second win of the season in what’s been a disappointing year for Andretti and Honda.

NHRA

Richie Crampton raced to his fourth Top Fuel victory of the season to close out a record-setting day at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.

Top Fuel and Funny Car teams took advantage of cool, overcast conditions at Brainerd International Raceway to break all four national records in those categories.

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown set the elapsed-time record at 3.680 seconds, and Spencer Massey broke the speed mark at 332.75 mph. In Funny Car, Jack Beckman set the time record at 3.901, and Matt Hagan broke the speed mark at 329.58. Hagan also had the quickest Funny Car time in history at 3.879, and Shawn Langdon the quickest Top Fuel time at 3.664, but they failed to certify those times.

Crampton beat Brittany Force in the final round with a 3.695 at 325.30.

“This race is going to go down in the history books,” Crampton said. “It was just some amazing racing today and there were some super-fast race cars out there. I keep forgetting that I ran a (3.69) in the final, because winning the event is so important.”

Robert Hight won in Funny Car, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Formula One

Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole, holding off Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg and padding his lead in the F1 championship standings.

The defending champion was two seconds ahead at the finish line for his sixth victory of the season in 11 races. Rosberg had a poor start and dropped from second to fourth before regaining the second position. The two Mercedes cars were dominant throughout the race.

Hamilton’s 39th career victory gave him a 28-point lead over Rosberg in the drivers’ standings.

ONTARIO >> A 23-year-old man was killed early Sunday morning when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the center divider of the 10 Freeway.

Christopher Sandoval of Ontario was driving a blue Kia at a high rate of speed east on the freeway just after 4:40 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office.

The crash, which occurred just west of the Mountain Avenue exit, pushed Sandoval’s vehicle into the No. 3 lane, where it was struck by a gold GMC Suburban, the Coroner’s Office reported.

Sandoval was taken to San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland, where he died, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the fatality.

GLENDORA >> Coroner’s officials Sunday identified a 23-year-old La Verne man who died after his motorcycle collided with two cars along Arrow Highway on Saturday afternoon.

Nathan Puga died in the 12:04 p.m. crash on westbound Arrow Highway, just east of Sunflower Avenue, in an unincorporated county area near Glendora, Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner Investigator Betsy Magdaleno said.

He was riding a 2015 Kawasaki Ninja at about 80 mph in the left-hand lane just before the fatal collision, Officer K. Croxford of the California High Patrol’s Baldwin Park area office said in a written statement. In front of him was a 2010 Volkswagen Passat traveling at about 10 mph, having just made a left turn onto Arrow Highway from a parking lot.

“Due to Puga’s unsafe speed, he was unable to maintain control of his vehicle and struck the left side of the Volkswagen Passat,” Croxford said. “The force of his impact caused Puga to veer to the right before the Kawasaki overturned onto its left side.”

The motorcycle and rider then slid into the rear of a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta stopped along the curb.

Paramedics pronounced Puga dead at the scene, officials said. Neither driver was injured.

The investigation was ongoing, and witnesses are encouraged to contact the CHP’s Baldwin Park area office at 626-338-1164.

CHINO >> A woman was airlifted to a hospital Sunday after being involved in an early morning collision, Chino Valley Fire District officials said.

Firefighters responded to a two-vehicle traffic collision involving a small sport utility vehicle and dump truck at Chino Corona Road and Pine Avenue at 6:39 a.m., according to a news release from the fire district.

The female driver of the SUV — the lone occupant — had to be extricated, fire officials said.

The woman, in her late 50s, sustained major injuries, said district spokeswoman Massiel DeGuevara.

“Because of the speed of the crash, the firefighters — on the precautionary side — decided to airlift the female driver to a hospital,” said Chino police Lt. Bill Covington.

Based on witness reports, the dump truck was heading north on Chino Corona Road and had stopped at the light at Pine. When the light turn green, the male driver of the truck proceeded as the female driver of the black Dodge Nitro, heading east on Pine, ran a red light, authorities said. The two vehicles collided, causing the truck to roll over.

A photo of the crash provided by the fire district shows the hood of the Dodge had popped open and the front end smashed into the commercial truck.

The intersection was closed for about an hour, Covington said.