Driver Found Guilty in Crash That Killed 3

A 22-year-old Los Angeles man was convicted Wednesday of three counts of felony vehicular manslaughter for an accident that killed three people, including an 11-month-old baby.

Gregory Masterson Michael was found guilty by a Van Nuys Superior Court jury of causing the Oct. 27 accident.

Witnesses testified during the weeklong trial that Michael was driving up to 60 m.p.h. when he ran a red light and hit the car carrying the victims.

Benjamin Rochel, 84, of Beverly Hills; his wife, Ashraf, 71, 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 was driving the car. She suffered a broken hip and several broken ribs.

Defense attorney James M. Epstein argued that his client was actually trying to avoid an accident at the time of the collision. Epstein told the jury in his closing statements that Michael ran the red light after changing lanes to avoid hitting a car stopped at the intersection where the accident occurred.

He admitted that Michael caused the accident, but said that Michael should have been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter because the prosecution failed to prove the gross negligence required for felony convictions.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Phillip H. Rabichow said Michael had been driving at high speeds and changing lanes erratically for several blocks before the fatal collision.

Michael, who works as a plumber, testified that he had just gotten off work and was in a hurry to get home and go to sleep.

Michael had been free on $2,500 bail but was remanded to custody and ordered to return to court on July 12 for sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, Rabichow said.