Inland Valley

By Tom Krisher | The Associated Press

The U.S. government’s road safety agency has dispatched a team to investigate the possibility that a Tesla involved in a Newport Beach crash that killed three people was operating on a partially automated driving system.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday confirmed it had sent a special crash investigation team to probe the May 12 crash on the Pacific Coast Highway.

The investigation is part of a larger inquiry by the agency into crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems such as Tesla’s Autopilot. Since 2016, the agency has sent teams to 34 crashes in which the systems were either in use or suspected of operating. Of the 34, 28 involved Teslas, according to an NHTSA document released Wednesday.

Fifteen people died in the crashes that NHTSA is investigating, and at least 15 more were hurt. Of the deaths, 14 occurred in crashes involving Teslas, the documents say.

In addition to the specific crashes, NHTSA has investigations under way into Teslas on Autopilot crashing into emergency vehicles parked along roadways, as well as a probe into Autopilot braking for no apparent reason.

Last June NHTSA ordered automakers to report any crashes on public roads involving fully autonomous vehicles or those with partially automated driver-assist systems. The partially automated systems can keep a vehicle centered in its lane and a safe distance from vehicles in front of it. NHTSA says the data can show if there are common patterns in crashes involving the systems.

A message was left Wednesday seeking comment from Tesla, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas. NHTSA wouldn’t comment beyond release of the document.

Tesla warns drivers using Autopilot, as well as its “Full Self-Driving” system, that the cars can’t drive themselves and that drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.

NHTSA also is investigating two crashes involving Volvos, one Navya shuttle crash, two involving Cadillacs, one in a Lexus and one in a Hyundai. One of the Volvo crashes was an Uber autonomous test vehicle that ran over and killed an Arizona pedestrian in March of 2018.

In the Newport Beach crash, police were called around 12:45 a.m. and found that a 2022 Tesla Model S sedan had crashed into a curb and then hit construction equipment on the south side of the road.

Authorities found two men and a woman dead in the car, and three construction workers suffered minor injuries, according to police.

The Newport Beach Police Department said it brought in its Major Accident Investigation Team.

Two suspects were arrested after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash that killed another motorist in Montclair early Tuesday. One other suspect remained at-large.

At about 6:57 a.m., officers were called to the intersection of Monte Vista Avenue and Mission Boulevard after reports of the collision. The driver of a Chevrolet Silverado traveling at high speed southbound on Monte Vista Avenue ran a red traffic light at the intersection and broadsided a black SUV, police said.

The sole occupant of the SUV was taken to a hospital where they died from their injuries. Information on the victim was not immediately available pending notification of family.

The three occupants of the Silverado attempted to flee the scene, though two suspects were located soon after, according to police. Inside the truck, officers found alcoholic containers, narcotics, ammunition and cash.

Oswaldo Gutierrez, 20, and a 16-year-old boy were both arrested. Gutierrez faces several charges, including: felony hit and run, driving under the influence, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, possession for sale of a controlled substance and transportation for sale of a controlled substance.

The 16-year-old suspect faces one count of willfully resisting or obstructing a police officer, possession for sale of a controlled substance and transportation for sale of a controlled substance.

The suspected third occupant, Vincent Galvin, 18, is being sought by police. He was last seen wearing a a red shirt with the word “Cookie” on it, black pants and tan shoes.

Anyone with information regarding this collision or the outstanding suspect, are urged to call the Montclair Police Department at (909) 621-4771.

NORWALK — A Santa Fe Springs man was convicted Monday of murder and other charges for leading police on a pursuit that ended with a fiery crash in Whittier just over three years ago.

Kevin Vargas fled from an officer who tried to stop him for a traffic violation Feb. 18, 2019, and a brief pursuit ensued in which he drove onto a dead-end street, made a U-turn and drove toward police vehicles chasing him, authorities said.

Vargas’ car collided with the victim’s Ford Explorer near the corner of Wardman Street and Pickering Avenue. The driver of the Ford Explorer, Isaias Rodriguez Cruz, 61, Fontana, died from blunt force trauma that day at a hospital.

Vargas was arrested after escaping from his car — which burst into flames — and fleeing from the scene of the crash.

Jurors found Vargas, now 27, guilty of one count each of second-degree murder, evading a peace officer causing death and hit-and-run driving resulting in death, along with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run with property damage.

Vargas is facing a potential life prison term, with sentencing set July 7 in a Norwalk courtroom.

Vargas has remained behind bars since his arrest, according to jail records.

A pedestrian was run over and killed in Norco by a driver who failed to stop early Monday, May 16, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.

The collision was reported at 1:39 a.m. in the area of 5th Street and Hamner Avenue. Paramedics treated the pedestrian before the pedestrian died at a hospital, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The person’s name was not announced.

No description of either the driver or the car was immediately available.

The dozens of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival shuttle bus drivers who were sickened after eating a catered meal were poisoned by toxins produced by a bacteria, the Riverside County Public Health Department said Friday, May 13.

Investigators were unable to determine which food was contaminated or how it happened, said Shane Reichardt, a spokesman for the Riverside County Emergency Management Department.

The bacteria, identified by a state health laboratory as staphylococcal aureus enterotoxin, was found in a container of food taken home by a Los Angeles County resident. But because the food items were mixed together, it was not clear which item was infected.

Staph can develop in certain foods left at room temperature for more than two hours, the county said, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reichardt said it wasn’t clear whether that happened in the case of the Coachella meal.

Some 40 drivers complaining of nausea, cramping, vomiting and diarrhea were hospitalized in Riverside County on April 25 after eating the dinner the previous night, the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said. Others who live elsewhere may also have sought treatment, the county said.

It did not appear that any festival-goers were affected by the illness, the county said.

A 21-year-old man accused of colliding and shooting into a car with a 3-year-old inside of it in a February domestic dispute in Upland was arrested in North Hollywood, Upland police said.

Joseph Martin Mandujano was arrested on Tuesday, May 10, at 11050 Hartsoor Ave. by members of the Upland Police Department, according to San Bernardino County inmate records. He was arrested in connection with a Feb. 11 crash and shooting in the area of Foothill Boulevard and Hospital Parkway, said Sgt. Jacob Kirk Thursday, May 12, spokesman for the Upland Police Department.

Mandujano was arrested on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of child abuse with possible gross bodily injury and one count of an assault with a deadly weapon, inmate records showed.

He was the ex-boyfriend of the female victim in the car who “chased” her throughout Upland before ramming the car and firing several shots inside the car, Kirk said. A man driving the car was grazed by one of the bullets, police said in February.

The Los Angeles Police Department also helped with the arrest of Mandujano, Upland police said.

Mandujano was being held on $1.5 million bail, jail records showed.

The driver of an SUV died and three people in a school bus suffered minor injuries Thursday morning, May 12, when the vehicles collided near Lake Elsinore, authorities said.

The crash was reported at 6:32 a.m. on Riverside Street near Highway 74. The driver of the 2009 Chevrolet HHR had to be cut out of the SUV, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said. That man, identified by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office as 57-year-old Anthony Ramirez of Lake Elsinore, died at Inland Valley Medical Center, the California Highway Patrol said.

Two students, an 8-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, according to the CHP, were hospitalized with minor injuries and were later released, said Melissa Valdez, a spokeswoman for the school district. The bus driver was not injured, Valdez said. He is a 69-year-old Wildomar resident, the CHP said.

A 20-year-old passenger on the bus also had minor injuries, the CHP said.

The bus was making a left turn from northbound Riverside Street onto westbound Highway 74 when it was broadsided by the eastbound SUV, the CHP said. The intersection is controlled by stoplights, and investigators are trying to determine which vehicle ran a red light, said Officer Mike Lassig, a CHP spokesman.

Traffic Collision with Extrication in Lake Elsinore RPT @ 6:32 AM- SR Hwy 74 w/of Riverside St. Firefighters are on scene of a collision involving an SUV and a bus. #RiversideIC pic.twitter.com/nuMrnqVoss

— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) May 12, 2022

 

A 23-year-old man was taken into custody after fleeing Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and striking a patrol car in an incident that left deputies with minor injuries in Moreno Valley, authorities said.

The incident happened Tuesday morning, May 10, just after midnight when deputies in a marked patrol vehicle saw a Nissan doing donuts in the intersection of Alessandro Boulevard and Lasselle Street, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. Despite the deputies’ attempt to initiate a traffic stop for reckless driving, the driver of the Nissan continued to do donuts, authorities said.

The driver then fled the area at a high rate of speed through residential streets, the Sheriff’s Department said. As the pursuit continued, the suspect then made a U-turn, turned off his car’s headlights and drove toward two patrol vehicles, forcing them to swerve to avoid being struck head-on, sheriff’s officials said.

When more patrol cars joined the pursuit, the suspect drove through a red light in the intersection of Lasselle and Bay Avenue and crashed into a marked patrol vehicle that was traveling through a green light, authorities said. The suspect then fled the scene on foot before being found in a nearby backyard, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Two sheriff’s deputies sustained minor injuries in the crash, sheriff’s officials said.

The driver was identified as Ramiro Benitez-Jimenez of Moreno Valley and he was arrested on suspicion of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer, authorities said.

“Taking over streets, destroying intersections, and driving at excessive speeds is dangerous and a serious threat to other motorists, pedestrians, and our community,” the Sheriff’s Department said in the press release. “No one should be killed or injured because someone wants to show off.”

Anyone with information about the incident was encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Department at 951-486-6700.

By Bailey Lipschultz | Bloomberg

Retail investors snapped up shares of Irvine-based Rivian Automotive on Monday as the stock tanked after prominent corporate backers and insiders got a chance to trim their stakes when the IPO lockup ended.

Individuals flocked to the electric-vehicle maker along with some of the market’s other worst performers, sticking to their buy-the-dip ways as benchmark indexes plunged. Rivian and retail-trader favorites like Tesla and Apple were the most bought stocks on Fidelity’s platform on Monday.

Shares of the electric-vehicle maker slumped 21% to a record low $22.78 after selling restrictions on investors like Amazon.com and Ford Motor Co. made an estimated 720 million shares eligible for sale. Ford has sold eight million shares, or 8% of its position in Rivian, since Sunday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

All told, retail traders snapped up $22 million worth of Rivian shares on Monday, the most since early March when the startup warned about “unprecedented” supply-chain shortages, according to data compiled by Vanda.

Rivian was the fourth most bought stock on Fidelity’s platform with buy orders nearly tripling sales. The buying came amid a jump in interest on popular retail trader websites like Reddit’s WallStreetBets and Stocktwits.

Retail traders have taken a hit during the stock’s 87% drop from its Nov. 16 record high. Individuals have spent an estimated $604 million on the shares since their debut in November, according to data compiled by Vanda, with the bulk of those purchases coming when it was trading well above $100.

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• Electric car buying: What you need to know now and in the future
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• Will Irvine-based Rivian be the ‘Tesla of trucks?’
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• Why Southern California is a new EV mecca, with Rivian, Lordstown, and Karma in Irvine