Police looking for driver connected to fatal San Bernardino crash

SAN BERNARDINO >> Police are still searching for the driver of a truck that a Westminister woman was allegedly chasing when she lost control of her vehicle Monday night, sending it flipping and skidding into a building, killing her.

“We would like to talk to him about what happened,” said Detective Devin Peck with the San Bernardino Police Department.

Police say 38-year-old Rachel Welch had called 9-1-1 late Monday night to report a man in a truck had cut her off north of Eighth and E streets. It appears she was trying to catch up to the driver when she lost control on E Street and ended up rolling through a dirt field, across Eight Street and into a the San Bernardino City Unified School District’s Smart building, officials said. The car then burst into flames.

“She was on the phone with 9-1-1 just about through the entire thing,” Peck said.

She died at the scene and investigators say it doesn’t appear she was wearing her seat belt.

Surveillance video shows a gray pickup truck driving south on E Street and a few seconds later, Welch’s Chevrolet Lumina is seen zooming by.

Investigators estimate she was traveling at least 70 mph when she lost control.

It’s unclear what the woman was doing in San Bernardino that night, Peck said.

Monday night’s fatal crash marks the fourth traffic fatality in the city since Thursday, according to police officials. It’s also the 30th traffic fatality this year.

“Last year we had 34,” Peck said. “We could be on pace to surpass that this year.”

A 48-year-old man was killed Thursday night at Rialto and Rancho avenues as he pushed a shopping cart across the roadway. A man driving a Nissan Eterra didn’t see the pedestrian and struck the man. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation. The following evening, Mia Serrato, 18, of Rialto was killed when the vehilce she was riding in was broadsided on I and Mills streets, officials said. Only a few hours later on Saturday morning, a head-on crash at Third Street and Sterling Avenue resulted in the death of 23-year-old Gilbert Tarin of San Bernardino.

A second crash early Saturday left a 63-year-old woman hospitalized after she was struck by a pickup truck at Waterman Avenue and Norman Road. That driver did not remain at the scene.

San Bernardino police are still working to determine the cause of Monday’s crash. Anyone with information about Monday night’s crash can contact the San Bernardino Police Department at 909-384-5664.

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Defense lawyers seek to suppress blood evidence in Culbreath deadly 60 Freeway crash

LOS ANGELES >> Lawyers for a Fontana woman, who is accused of killing six people in a wrong-way DUI crash on the 60 Freeway last year, are looking to suppress the woman’s blood test.

Attorneys for Olivia Carolee Culbreath, 22, filed a motion involving her blood sample and its analysis during court proceedings Wednesday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Culbreath’s attorneys are alleging that California Highway Patrol officers did not obtain a search warrant before securing a blood sample.

They argued that she was unconscious at the time the blood sample was taken and could not authorize law enforcement and medical personnel to take the sample.

In the motion Culbreath’s attorneys argue the blood sample taken by CHP officers with the help of medical personnel was a violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the state’s Constitution and the state Penal Code.

The crash occurred at 4:42 a.m. and Culbreath was taken to the hospital and arrested, according to the lawyers’ document, and she was in custody for more than an hour “before police told hospital personnel to extract blood.”

About three hours after the crash, at 7:40 a.m. an officer asked a nurse to draw a blood sample, according to the document. An attempt to take a blood sample was made at 7:45 a.m. and a doctor made another, and successful attempt at 7:53 a.m. by drawing it from Culbreath’s inner thigh.

“The methods used to extract the blood, while ostensibly medical, were mainly medieval” according to the document.

During a preliminary hearing a CHP officer testified that a nurse tried to draw blood from Culbreath but had difficulty doing so. A doctor was able to take the sample from Culbreath’s inner thigh.

Culbreath is accused of driving a Chevrolet Camaro east on the westbound 60 Freeway at speeds approaching 100 mph on Feb. 9, 2014 before allegedly being involved in a wrong way, head-on crash at about 4:45 a.m. in Diamond Bar, the CHP said.

The car crashed head-on into a sport utility vehicle. Another vehicle then crashed into the SUV, the CHP said.

Six people died in the incident, including two women in Culbreath’s car.

Culbreath’s sister, Maya, 24, of Rialto, was one of the two women. The other was Kristin Melissa Young, 21, of Chino.

Four Huntington Park residents traveling in the SUV were thrown from the vehicle and died. The four Huntington Park residents were Gregorio Mejia-Martinez, 47; Leticia Ibarra, 42; Jessica Jasmine Mejia, 20; and Ester Delgado, 80.

During a pre-trial hearing CHP investigators said witnesses saw Culbreath drinking at a Fullerton bar hours before the crash.

The case is scheduled to return to court Dec. 4.

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FedEx truck crash, mudslide snarl traffic on Inland freeways

POMONA >> Rain may have contributed to a FedEx truck crashing into the center divider of the 60 Freeway on Monday morning in Pomona, completely shutting down the westbound lanes as well as one lane on the eastbound side and sending debris across both sides.

Officials say it was raining around 1:45 a.m. when the tractor trailer struck the divider on the eastbound side of the freeway near Reservoir Street. No major injuries were reported.

The tractor and trailers were removed from the freeway as of 5:30 a.m., but crews continued to work on the damaged divider.

After nearly five hours, crews reopened the westbound lanes of the freeway. But traffic was slow as cars that were backed up for about 10 miles got moving again.

The crash sent commuters scrambling to find alternate routes, which may have led to heavy traffic on the westbound 10 and 210 freeways.

The wet weather also may have contributed to a mudslide early Monday morning that shut down the transition road from the northbound 215 Freeway to the southbound 15 Freeway.

The slide was reported about 4:30 a.m., according to CHP reports.

Crews waited for daylight to assess the situation and clear the roadway, according to CHP reports. Authorities reopened the transition road later that morning.

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6 US airmen killed in Afghanistan plane crash identified

DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas >> The Department of Defense has identified the six American airmen killed when a U.S. Air Force military transport plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan.

The airmen were identified Saturday as: Capt. Jonathan Golden, 33, of Camarillo, California; Capt. Jordan Pierson, 28, of Abilene, Texas; Staff Sgt. Ryan Hammond, 26, of Moundsville, West Virginia; Senior Airman Quinn Johnson-Harris, 21, of Milwaukee; Senior Airman Nathan Sartain, 29, of Pensacola, Florida; and Airman 1st Class Kcey Ruiz, 21, of McDonough, Georgia.

Golden, Pierson, Hammond and Johnson-Harris were based at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene. Sartain and Ruiz were based at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.

Also killed: five civilian passengers and an unknown number of people on the ground.

The cause of the early Friday crash remains under investigation.

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Motorcyclist killed in solo crash on 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar

DIAMOND BAR — A motorcyclist died Friday morning on the eastbound 60 Freeway when he hit a curb and was thrown off the motorcycle.

Two eastbound lanes were closed due to the 5:27 a.m. fatal crash which occurred near the Diamond Bar Boulevard.

The California Highway Patrol described the rider as a 49-year-old Hacienda Heights man. His name wasn’t released because his family has not been notified.

CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said the motorcyclist was traveling over 70 mph while eastbound in the car pool lane and approaching the 57 northbound transition road. He said the motorcyclist passed the entrance to the transition road and tried to enter the transition road by leaving the car pool lane .

Jimenez said the Harley Davidson Road King went across all four lanes, entered the right shoulder portion and struck the raised curb that separates the eastbound 60 Freeway and the transition road. The motorcycle went down and the rider was thrown off. Jimenez said the man died at the scene.

The CHP issued a SigAlert for the No. 3 and 4 lanes of the eastbound 60 Freeway at 6:29 a.m. The lanes reopened about three hours later.

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Pomona police search for fleeing driver in area of Fairplex, Arroyo drives

POMONA >> Members of the Pomona Police Department are in the area of Fairplex and Arroyo conducting a search for the driver of a car that officers had been pursuing.

Police tried to stop the driver for a Vehicle Code violation in the southern end of the city, said police Lt. Christian Hsu. Instead of stopping the driver sped off.

The chase ended when the driver abandoned the car in the area where the search is taking place.

Police are also trying to determine why the driver tried to flee from officers, Hsu said.

More to come

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Former UFC champ Jon Jones pleads guilty following hit-and-run

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Former UFC champion Jon “Bones” Jones pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge stemming from a hit-and-run crash in Albuquerque that injured a pregnant woman, saying he took full responsibility for what the judge called a “stupid decision” in the moments following the accident.

Jones’ plea to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury was entered in New Mexico district court. He will avoid jail time and serve up to 18 months of supervised probation under his plea agreement.

Judge Charles Brown also waived a conviction for Jones, meaning he will not have the felony on his record if he meets the terms of his probation. The 28-year-old fighter has been ordered to schedule 72 speaking engagements, one for each week of his probation, at area schools and martial arts centers to explain to youth how bad choices can undo years of hardwork.

Shortly after his arrest, the UFC stripped Jones of his light heavyweight title and suspended him from fighting.

“Ever since he walked away from that car, he’s done everything he can to make amends,” defense attorney Vincent Ward told the judge.

Jones, who trains in Albuquerque, will be allowed to travel to fights and promotional events while on probation.

Citing witnesses, authorities say the crash in April happened when a rental SUV that Jones was driving ran a red light. He then fled the scene, and returned quickly to grab a handful of cash from the vehicle.

The crash sent a woman to the hospital with a broken arm.

Ward said in court Jones had reached out to make amends with the woman, whom the defense attorney said had recovered.

Ward also noted Jones turned himself in to authorities to comply with an arrest warrant after the accident.

Jones (21-1) endured legal problems during much of his championship tenure. In 2012, he was arrested after crashing his Bentley into a telephone pole in Binghamton, N.Y. He had his driver’s license suspended after being charged with DWI. He did no jail time.

Last year, Jones and fighter Daniel Cormier were involved in a brawl in the lobby of the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas while appearing at a promotional event. Jones was fined $50,000 and ordered to do community service by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

After the crash in April, officers found a pipe with marijuana in the SUV as well as MMA documents in Jones’ name, according to a police report.

“I think this has been a huge wake-up call for Mr. Jones,” Ward said.

UFC President Dana White attended the hearing Tuesday and said a decision about Jones’ status with the UFC would come later.

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‘Fast & Furious’ star Paul Walker’s daughter sues Porsche over fatal Santa Clarita crash

LOS ANGELES >> Paul Walker’s daughter sued Porsche for wrongful death Monday, claiming the sports car that her father was in when he was killed suffered from numerous design defects.

The lawsuit filed by Meadow Rain Walker seeks unspecified damages for defects that her lawyers claim kept the actor trapped in the Porsche Carrera GT when it crashed and burst into flames in November 2013.

• PHOTOS: Actor Paul Walker’s life cut short in tragic Santa Clarita crash

Walker was on a break from filming the seventh film in the “Fast & Furious” franchise when he was killed. He was riding in the Carrera GT driven by friend and business associate Roger Rodas when the car spun out of control, struck three trees and burst into flames on a street in Santa Clarita, California.

The wrongful-death suit claims the car, which was marketed as a street-legal race car, lacked a proper stability control system and safeguards to protect occupants and keep it from catching fire after a collision.

“Absent these defects in the Porsche Carrera GT, Paul Walker would be alive today,” the lawsuit states.

An email sent to representatives of Porsche Cars North America was not immediately returned.

The 18-page lawsuit includes a detailed recounting of the crash and contends that the Porsche was traveling 63 to 71 mph when it spun out of control.

Investigators concluded the Porsche was going much faster — up to 94 mph — when it crashed.

The investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol concluded that it was unsafe speed and not mechanical problems that caused the crash. That investigation was aided by engineers from Porsche, who evaluated the wreckage of the rare car.

Meadow Walker’s lawsuit contends Porsche didn’t include a stability control system in the Carrera GT model Rodas was driving but includes it in other models. It also claims the car lacked proper reinforcements in its doors and used rubber fuel lines that didn’t break free to prevent a fire in a crash.

Similar allegations of design and safety defects were included in a wrongful death lawsuit by Rodas’ widow, Kristine Rodas, that remains pending in a federal court in Los Angeles. Rodas was trained as a race car driver and was only driving 55 mph, according to his wife’s lawsuit. He left behind two young children when he died.

Walker, the star of the “Fast & Furious” film franchise, co-owned an auto racing team with Rodas named Always Evolving. Meadow Walker, 16, is the sole heir of his estate.

Walker’s two brothers helped complete action scenes in “Furious 7,” which earned more than $1.5 billion globally after it was released in April.

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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This story has been corrected to show the title of the latest film is “Furious 7” not “Fast & Furious 7.”

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California will have public-alert system to track down hit-and-run drivers

LOS ANGELES >> A Los Angeles area assemblyman said a bill signed Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown to create a public alert system aimed at tracking down hit-and-run drivers will make streets safer statewide.

AB 8 calls for “yellow alerts” showing details about a fleeing vehicle — such as color, make, model and license plate number — to be displayed on digital freeway and street signs. Such alerts are already used during kidnappings.

“We’re just ecstatic,” Assemblyman Mike Gatto told City News Service Monday afternoon, about 10 minutes after receiving the news from the governor’s staff.

“This will make our streets much more safe, will help a lot of grieving families get justice,” he said.

Gatto held a news conference outside Los Angeles City Hall earlier Monday to urge Brown to “do the right thing” and sign the bill, which is set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

Brown vetoed a similar bill last year, explaining to Gatto that he had concerns it would overburden the existing alert system. The governor had until Oct. 11 to decide whether to sign or veto the latest bill.

“I don’t think the system is too burdened,” Gatto said Monday, noting that freeway signs are being used to urge drivers statewide to conserve water amid an historic drought.

“We shouldn’t have to put up $50,000 rewards to try to catch somebody. We shouldn’t have to flier our neighborhoods,” Gatto said. “We should give law enforcement tools to try to catch somebody by crowdsourcing it, if you will.”

Gatto added his bill is “narrowly tailored” to ensure alerts are only sent out in areas near where the incidents occur and only if the collision resulted in serious injury or death.

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Tamika Butler, who joined Gatto in urging Brown to sign the bill, said 150 people die each year due to hit-and-runs.

She noted a fatal hit-and-run in Highland Park earlier this month. Butler said she was eating dinner with friends in the area when she heard a crash, then saw a driver flee the scene.

The victim, Yolanda Lugo, died about a week later, while “we are still looking for the perpetrator of this crime,” Butler said. “The Assembly member is doing his part and now, we just ask the governor, please sign the bill and show all vulnerable users of the streets that the streets also belong to them.”

The Los Angeles City Council earlier this year approved standing rewards ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 aimed at generating leads to capture drivers who flee traffic collisions rather than stop to potentially render aid.

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