Driver Killed, 3 Others Hurt in Freeway Race Crash

A motorist who was racing two other cars along the Riverside Freeway was killed and his three passengers injured when their car struck the back of a truck, California Highway Patrol officials said Monday.

Jose Luis Lopez Jimenez, 21, of Fullerton died instantly shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday when his Ford Mustang collided into the rear of a tractor-trailer truck traveling in the eastbound lanes near the Harbor Boulevard exit, said CHP Officer Joan Rivas. After striking the rear of the truck at about 85 m.p.h., the car flipped about five times, Rivas said.

Passengers Faustino Padron, 21, and Roberto Benavides, 20, of Cerritos were taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where they were treated and released, a spokeswoman said. The third passenger, Carmen Benavides, 34, of Anaheim, Roberto’s brother, was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was in good condition, Rivas said.

A witness told CHP investigators that the two cars that were racing with Jimenez left the scene after the collision, Rivas said.