Inland Valley

THOUSAND OAKS — Matt Wennerstrom, who helped people flee Southern California’s Borderline bar mass shooting, was killed in a motorcycle crash during the weekend, authorities said.

The crash occurred Saturday in the Newbury Park area of Thousand Oaks, police said in a statement.

Wennerstrom was memorialized at a vigil Monday night, Los Angeles TV station KNBC reported.

A friend, Carina Cendejas, said Wennerstrom “was special to so many people.”

• More on the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting

Wennerstrom emerged as a hero in 2018 when a gunman opened fire in the Borderline Bar and Grill, killing 11 and wounding a sheriff’s sergeant who was accidentally killed by a shot fired by a fellow lawman. The shooter took his own life.

RELATED STORY: A Borderline Bar & Grill regular skips a night of dancing, and now he’s grieving the dead

During the gunfire, Wennerstrom first shielded other patrons and then used a barstool to smash out a window, allowing many to escape.

“All I did was grab as many people as I could and pull them underneath the table,” he told LA TV station KABC at the time. “And then, till I heard the shots, till I heard a break in the shots, and then we got people out of there as much as we could.”

Wennerstrom, 24, was thrown from his motorcycle after colliding with an SUV, officials said. He died at the scene. The crash is under investigation.

A motorist from La Puente was seriously burned Monday when his sedan caught fire on the 15 Freeway in Temecula, leading to a brush fire adjacent to the freeway that was quickly contained.

The car fire was reported about 2:30 p.m. on the southbound 15, just north of Winchester Road (Highway 79), according to the California Highway Patrol.

The agency said the 2007 Toyota Camry went off of the freeway and down an embankment, where it erupted in flames.

The driver, identified only as a 32-year-old man, was exposed to the fire for an unknown duration before getting a safe distance away, suffering burns to his hands, arms and other parts of the upper body, according to reports from the scene.

An off-duty paramedic stopped on the freeway and ran to the man’s aid, determining that he had burns to nearly 40% of his body, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Crews from the county and the nearby city of Murrieta reached the location within a few minutes and discovered that the car fire had extended to bushes and trees adjacent to the freeway, officials said.

Firefighters got the blaze under control by 3 p.m.

All southbound lanes on the 15 were shut down just after 3 p.m. to provide a temporary landing zone for a Mercy Air helicopter to set down and retrieve the victim.

The man was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment.

City News Service and The Press-Enterprise contributed to this story.

MORENO VALLEY — The driver of a sedan died when her car was broad-sided by a pickup truck in Moreno Valley on Sunday, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 4:50 p.m. in the intersection of Indian Street and Delphinium Avenue, said Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Craig.

The driver of a gold Toyota Solana was found unresponsive and trapped inside the passenger compartment when deputies arrived at the scene, Craig said. Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters used hydraulic tools to free the driver for transport to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was later identified as Maria Mejia, 58, Moreno Valley.

The driver of a black Dodge Ram truck remained at the scene, he said.

“The investigation revealed the Dodge was traveling north on Indian Street and the Toyota was traveling west on Delphinium Avenue. As both vehicles entered the intersection, the front of the Dodge collided into the driver’s side of the Toyota,” Craig said. “The impact of the collision caused the Toyota to careen across the roadway and come to rest north of the intersection.”

The investigation continued but alcohol appeared to be a factor, he said.

FONTANA – If you are into demolition derby, or maybe bumper cars, then this weekend’s NASCAR action at the Auto Club Speedway may have been your thing.There was a little bit of racing mixed in with all the bumping and crumpling. There is often more action on Southern California freeways.

The crashes and spinouts that dominated on Saturday continued on Sunday during the running of the WISE Power 400. WISE Power, which became the entitlement sponsor for this race earlier this year, specializes in renewable energy.

NASCAR may be in need of some renewable energy. There were the Gen 6 cares from 2013 to 2021. Now it is Next Gen cars. What does the Gen stand for? Generating mishaps?During Sunday’s race, witnessed by an estimated 70,000 fans, 59 of the 200 laps were run under 12 caution flags.

The only exciting part came at the end of the 400-mile race when Kyle Larson, who went from last to first, took a route on the inside of the race to take the checkered flag.

Austin Dillon was second. Eric Jones, who qualified No. 2, finished third, followed by upstart Daniel Suarez.

Joey Logano, the winner of the Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum four weeks ago, finished fifth.

Five cars in the field of 36 were not able to finish and eight others were at least one lap down.

“It’s always fun to win here in the home state,” said Elk Grove native Kyle Larson. “There were definitely some guys that were quicker than us, but they had their misfortunes.

“Just kept our heads in it all day — long race. Restarts were crazy. The whole runs were crazy. So definitely wild, but cool to get a win here in California and hope we get on a little streak.”

Among few winners Sunday was Suarez, the only Latino driver in the Cup Series. Suarez, 30, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, has a significant fan club called Daniel’s Amigos. They were plenty excited about their guy’s fourth-place finish.

Suarez came out of the pack and briefly led with three laps to go. He has yet to win a Cup Series race.

“We’re going to win a few races very soon,” he said. “I just can’t thank everyone enough on my team. We had a fast car, but we went through a lot of adversity. We had a few issues. We hit the wall once.”

It seemed just about every car either hit the wall at least once or had some kind of mishap.

The day did not begin very well for Las Vegas’ Busch brothers, but went from disastrous to not so bad.

Kurt Busch, 43, finished eighth after starting in the back of the pack, and Kyle Busch, 36, ended up 14th after early race trouble.

Kurt Busch and his crew failed three pre-qualifying tests on Saturday, resulting in temporarily being placed last in the field. That penalty also required Busch to make a slow pass through the pits on the first lap.

With that behind him, he started to move up. But then came another penalty, this time for exiting pit row too quickly, and back to the back he went. After that, he kept passing cars and avoiding accidents.

“I can’t describe what we went through today with all the adversity, all of the problems – the self-inflicted things, the oddball scenarios,” Busch said, “Wow. What a top-10. That is a statement piece for us at 23XI.”

Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace are the two drivers for the 23XI team, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin, who continues to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, finished 15th Sunday. On lap 153, Hamlin avoided crashing into William Bryon’s car by inches.

Kyle Busch, who won his first top-level NASCAR race at Fontana in 2005 at the age of 20 and went on to 58 more over the next 16 years, qualified fourth on Saturday despite experiencing transmission problems. But a spinout on lap 15 Sunday put him two laps down and out of contention.

Spinouts and accidents spoiled the day for most of the drivers.

Up-and-comer Tyler Riddick led throughout much of the race and won the first two of the race’s three stages. Then, entering lap 153, Riddick slowed down when Larson’s car had a flat. Reddick then got hit by William Byron’s car, which just missed hitting Hamlin.

Orange County’s Cole Custer, who won Saturday’s Xfinity race in impressive fashion, did double duty over the weekend and, in the WISE Power 400, got as high as fifth before finishing 11th.

Second-place finisher Austin Dillon was one of the few happy campers at the end of the day.

“We had to make a bunch of adjustments,” he said “We were terrible at the beginning. Just kind of learning the car myself.”

Dillon said communicating with crew chief Justin Alexander was a key to his showing.

“Our pit crew was the story of the day today,” Dillion added. “They were special. And my teammate (Tyler) Reddick – I hate what happened to him.’

Third place finisher Eric Jones said, “It feels good to be interviewed after the race, but it’s frustrating too. You’re that close and you have a car that you feel like can do it. A couple restarts just didn’t go our way. I probably could have done a better job here and there, and it just didn’t add up.

“I just haven’t raced up front a lot in the last year and a half. There are some things I need to be better at. Hopefully, I have a lot of time to work on that. We want to keep running up front and if we keep doing that, we’re going to win some races.”

A possible road-rage incident escalated into a fatal roadside shooting on the 15 Freeway in Victorville on Thursday, Feb. 24, and now the California Highway Patrol is hunting for the killer.

The investigation shut down the freeway in both directions.

The confrontation between the driver of a black GMC SUV and the driver of an unidentified sedan happened at about 7:45 p.m. in the northbound lanes south of Nisqualli Road. As they approached the Nisqualli offramp, they stopped on the right shoulder. The SUV driver, a man, got out.  So did the driver of the sedan, who fired several shots at the SUV driver, the CHP said.

The driver of the SUV was struck by the bullets and died. The shooter drove away, exiting at Nisqualli.

No additional description of the shooter or his car was immediately available Friday morning. The victim’s name has not been publicly announced.

The CHP asks anyone with information on the shooting to call Officer Kavert at 909-806-2484.

Two people were arrested in the death of a man found in a crashed pickup truck with a gunshot wound in Pomona, police announced Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Pomona residents Aurelio Camarillo, 44, and Luis Silva, 28, were arrested on Feb. 16, police said in a news release. They are accused in the March 20, 2021 death of 32-year-old Luis Alberto Garcia of Pomona.

Camarillo is facing charges of murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and being a felon in possession of a firearm, police said. They said Silva was an accessory after the fact.

On the day of the shooting, police responded to a crash at the intersection of Holt Boulevard and Erie Street and saw a pickup truck in the roadway. Officers found that the driver, Garcia, had been shot. He was taken to a hospital where he later died from his injuries, police said.

Both suspects confessed their involvement in the slaying to detectives, according to the release. The motive of the shooting and the manner in which the events took place were not provided.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation is encouraged to contact police at 909-622-1241.

Casino Insider is a weekly newsletter with all the best bets for food, entertainment and fun at Southern California’s casinos. It’s delivered to your inbox on Thursdays. Subscribe now.

I was working on a story about casino bus transportation last week when a reader emailed about that very topic, so I was happy to share the latest info on which Southern California casinos are still using buses, which ones aren’t, and which pickup locations are nearest to you. 

Have you used any bus services in recent months? Reply to the email and let me know.

I am also working on a story about players’ lucky rituals. Do you have a lucky outfit you wear to the casino? Do you not blink until you know the outcome of the game? No matter how silly or serious you think the ritual is, I want to hear about it! Reply directly to this email or send me a note at cvargas@scng.com. 

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Beyond Southern California

While Los Angeles may have won the Super Bowl on Sunday, Nevada casinos were also in high spirits. Nevada casinos brought in $179.8 million in Super Bowl bets, surpassing all previous Super Bowl betting records.While Los Angeles may have won the Super Bowl on Sunday, Nevada casinos were also in high spirits. Nevada casinos brought in $179.8 million in Super Bowl bets, surpassing all previous Super Bowl betting records. NBC News has more.

Bus transportation has gradually returned to Southern California’s tribal-owned casinos after it stopped at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic nearly two years ago.

While some casinos have resumed bus operations, others are still suspended without a timeframe for when they’ll return.

Here’s a look at the current busing situation at Southern California casinos.

Agua Caliente Casinos: In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the properties said that they do not have any busing currently.

Augustine Casino: A spokesperson for the Coachella casino says that it does not have a program where it incentivizes drivers, but it does allow buses to drop guests off.

Casino Pauma: According to the casino’s website and shuttle hotline, the shuttle program is still suspended and does not have a timeframe for when it will resume.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino: The bus service is running again, according to the casino’s website and a call to the shuttle service line. Pickup locations include Rialto, Los Angeles (Koreatown) and Montebello.

Harrah’s Resort Southern California:  The Valley Center casino has not resumed bus service, according to a spokesperson and the casino’s website.

Morongo Casino Resort & Spa: In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the casino said that it does not offer a bus service at this time and has no contractual relationship with any bus or charter companies.

Pala Casino, Spa & Resort: Pala is offering a shuttle service according to a casino spokesperson and the casino’s website. The site states that the bus company may require temperature checks and masks for riders. There are pickup locations in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and include cities such as Los Angeles (Koreatown), Irvine, Corona and Chino Hills.

Pechanga Resort Casino: The resort had a bus program before COVID-19, and it is currently suspended, according to its website.

Soboba Casino: The casino is no longer offering bus service, according to an email statement from a casino spokesperson.

Spotlight 29 and Tortoise Rock casinos: According to a casino representative, there are no bus services at this time and no information on when they will resume.

Yaamava’ Resort & Casino: Yaamava’ brought back its busing program in November, according to its website. Current pickup locations include Monterey Park and Los Angeles.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday released video footage in which more than a dozen officers and deputies fired hundreds of gunshots at a driver who was apparently trying to escape arrest by ramming vehicles in a fast-food drive-thru lane.

Several volleys of dozens of gunshots were fired by law enforcement officers shortly after a truck driven by Dennis McHugh struck a civilian vehicle in a Del Taco drive-thru in Beaumont, knocking a Banning police officer off an embankment and forcing the car to land on top of him, according to body-worn camera and helicopter footage contained in the critical-incident video.

McHugh, a 44-year-old Glendora resident, was the subject of an ongoing investigation into allegations of domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, along with an open warrant for an alleged assault case in Los Angeles County, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in the video.

Shortly after 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department helicopter spotted McHugh’s vehicle in the 400 block of E. 4th Street in Beaumont, Bianco said. Authorities previously indicated that McHugh was believed to have been involved in a suspected domestic-violence dispute in the Woodcrest area hours earlier.

Sheriff’s deputies were joined by officers from the Beaumont and Banning police departments, as well as the California Highway Patrol, who responded to the scene to assist in the arrest.

The video footage released by the sheriff’s department begins with deputies and officers ordering McHugh to turn off his truck and exit the vehicle. Bianco said McHugh ignored their commands, and body-worn camera footage showed his truck ramming into multiple patrol vehicles – and at least one civilian vehicle – in an apparent attempt to escape.

“Back out of the way, everyone out of the way, he’s ramming cars,” an officer can be heard yelling on the video, as at least one civilian can be seen scrambling for safety.

The Banning officer is heard warning other officers to jump over a  rail in case McHugh backed up when his truck accelerated forward, knocking a car and the officer off the embankment. A first volley of gunshots can be heard as a car rolls on top of the officer.

A second volley of gunshots are heard as McHugh’s truck drives down the embankment, followed by a third as officers run to assist the Banning officer trapped under the car.

A special enforcement team from the sheriff’s department used an armored rescue vehicle to get the trapped officer out from under the vehicle.

They discovered McHugh dead in his vehicle, the sheriff said.

The injured officer was hospitalized but reportedly expected to make a full recovery.

Bianco in an interview on Tuesday confirmed that there were at least 300 shots fired from around 13 officers and deputies. The sheriff acknowledged that “it’s easy for you and I to say it’s a lot of rounds,” but added that individual officers can be focused on ending what they see as a threat, rather than on the actions of other law enforcement officers.

“When you have that many people who are shooting, you are not necessarily thinking about what the others are doing, you are thinking about what you perceive is happening,” he said.

Staff writer Brian Rokos contributed to this report.