3 Plead Not Guilty to Murder, Fraud in Freeway Crash
The driver and two passengers of an auto crushed by a car-carrier truck in Sun Valley last week pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and fraud charges stemming from the crash, which authorities say was staged to collect insurance.
A third passenger, Jose Luis Perez, 29, died when the 18-wheeler overturned on the car Wednesday evening on the Golden State Freeway after driver Jorge Sanchez, 29, deliberately swerved in front of the truck, police say.
Sanchez and passengers Isiais Aguilar-Martinez, 24, and Rubidia Lopez, 28, were arraigned Monday in Los Angeles Municipal Court on one count each of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
The three Los Angeles residents were charged with murder under the theory that their illegal actions caused a death, Deputy Dist. Atty. Barry Thorpe said.
Judge William R. Chidsey Jr. denied bail and set a preliminary hearing for the three for July 6.
The complaint alleges that Sanchez swerved his Pontiac Firebird numerous times and “applied his brakes directly in front of and close to” the big-rig truck.
The truck, loaded with a dozen cars, jackknifed when its driver swerved to avoid rear-ending Sanchez’s car, police said.
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