Marlene Johnson, 67

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Marlene Johnson, 67, a white woman, was killed by trauma injuries received in a car crash at the intersection of Whittier Boulevard and South San Gabriel Place in Pico Rivera at about 7:32 p.m. March 13, and died right after, at 8:17 p.m., in an incident that also left a 24-year-old Latino man in critical condition for a lengthy period.

In this unusual homicide, a shooting triggered a car accident. Sheriff’s deputies the Latino man was driving a dark-colored SUV when he was accosted by four Latino men in a dark-colored Toyota, who argued with him, pursued him, and then shot him. A bullet struck the man in his upper body, and he lost control of the SUV, which then slammed into a minivan being driven by Johnson, who died of her injuries from the collision. Additionally, the woman’s 47-year-old daughter, a passenger in the minivan, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

When this case was initially reported by the media, the Latino man who lost control of his car was called a gang member, and it was said he had been involved in a shootout with the assailants. Johnson was depicted as his victim--as much she was the victim of the shooters who fled. But this neat narrative fell apart as investigators uncovered the details. It turned out that, like Johnson, the young man was the victim of a random attack. It’s very possible he was targeted because he was young and Latino, but he was not a gang member, not known to his attackers, and not armed. Anyone with information is asked to call Sheriff’s detectives at (323)890-5500.