Man Faces Trial for Manslaughter

A 21-year-old Sylmar man was ordered Monday to stand trial for vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of three friends with whom he was allegedly racing.

Kenneth Acosta was scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in the north Valley on May 12 in the deaths of Michael Encinas, 18, Pablo Rangle Jr., 18, and Shannon Haupt, 20.

The three high school chums died March 4, when the car driven by Rangle, carrying the other two, careened off the Foothill Freeway near the interchange with the Ronald Reagan Freeway.

Acosta, who is diabetic and a hemophiliac, was charged in the deaths because prosecutors believe he showed gross negligence by allegedly racing with the three former Sylmar High School marching band members.

Acosta was released on his own recognizance. His father, Daniel Acosta, has said that the two cars had been speeding but had slowed to normal speeds when the blue Nissan Maxima driven by Rangle swerved and flew 400 feet off the road into a drainage ditch.

Initially, the California Highway Patrol sought second-degree murder charges against Acosta in connection with the incident. Acosta, an engineering student at a Van Nuys technical school, was arrested and held on $1 million bail.

Authorities decided on the lesser manslaughter charge last month, saying there was no evidence that Acosta acted with malice.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.