Driver Speeding Before Fatal Crash, Man Says
A 22-year-old Los Angeles man was driving at speeds up to 60 m.p.h. moments before he ran a red light and smashed into another vehicle, killing an 11-month-old baby and its grandparents, a witness testified Tuesday.
Gregory Masterson Michael was driving at high speed and changing lanes erratically for several blocks before the collision, Charles Hamilton testified on the first day of Michael’s trial in Van Nuys Superior Court.
Michael, who is free on $2,500 bail, is charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the Oct. 27 accident.
Benjamin Rochel, 84; his wife, Ashraf, 71, both of Beverly Hills, and their grandson, Jonathan Rochel, died in the accident at Victory Boulevard and White Oak Avenue in Reseda. The infant’s mother, Fereshteh Rochel, 27, of Reseda, who was driving the car, had only minor injuries.
Michael was also injured in the crash, but did not have to be hospitalized.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to six years in prison on each of the three counts.
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