Driver Held in Crash That Killed Cousin
A North Hollywood man was arrested Thursday on charges of vehicular manslaughter after an accident that left his cousin dead, Los Angeles police said.
Carlos Ortega, a 22-year-old laborer, drove his car through a wrought-iron fence and into a building on Chandler Boulevard west of Tujunga Avenue at 1:25 a.m., Sgt. Ron Barnes said. Ortega fled on foot, Barnes said.
Ortega’s cousin, Herminto Hernandez Ortega of North Hollywood, a passenger in the car, was dead when police arrived, Barnes said.
Police said they later found Carlos Ortega at his cousin’s home. He was treated for cuts to the head at North Hollywood Medical Center and held at Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $2,500 bail, Barnes said.
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