Boxer Aquino Arrested After Crash That Killed 2

Super-welterweight boxing champ Lupe Aquino was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter after his Mercedes-Benz veered off the San Diego Freeway at 2:20 a.m. Sunday and tumbled down an embankment, killing two passengers and injuring a third.

Aquino, 25, a Ventura resident whose full name is Isaias Guadalupe Aquino, was booked at the Van Nuys police station. The boxer, who could not be reached for comment, was released after paying a bond of $2,500.

Aquino is from Mexico and currently is the No. 2-rated challenger in the World Boxing Council super-welterweight division. The rival World Boxing Assn. ranks Aquino No. 5 in its junior-middleweight division. On June 24, he defeated Royan Hammond to become the North American Boxing Federation super-welterweight champion in a four-knockdown, 12-round bout.

California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Jill Angel said the accident occurred as Aquino, traveling north in the slow lane in the Sepulveda Pass near Brentwood, was nearing Chalon Road.

“For unknown reasons, he lost control and went over the side,” she said, adding that it was not known how fast the car was traveling.

“We are still trying to figure out what caused him to go off the side. He dropped 40 feet and ended up upside-down on Sepulveda Boulevard.”

The accident killed a man and a woman in the back seat, also from Ventura, who were not wearing seat belts. The county coroner’s office identified them as Howard Thomas and Teresa Bello. No ages were available.

A woman riding in the front seat, Michelle Avila, 25, of Ventura, received moderate injuries and a UCLA Medical Center spokesman said she was in stable condition. Aquino suffered minor injuries, Angel said.