Suspected Drunk Driver Held in Crash That Killed Three

Three people were killed in Commerce on Sunday when a suspected drunk driver broadsided a van, causing a three-car crash, police said.

Alejandro Ramirez, 40, of Whittier, was arrested on three charges of vehicular manslaughter. He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for treatment of minor head injuries and was in stable condition.

The driver of the van, Rizalina Catambay, 55, of Los Angeles, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to County-USC, where she was listed in serious condition.

Catambay’s sister, Ting Medina Catambay, 45, of Los Angeles, and her husband, Albert Arcilla Ting, 34, were both in the back of the van and were killed, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Wenrich.

Catambay’s brother, Ernesto Catambay, 37, of Los Angeles, died in the van’s front passenger seat, he said.

“It appears to be a very tight-knit Filipino family,” said sheriff’s Lt. Charlie Araujo. “It’s going to be a very sad story.”

The driver of the third car involved, Dawn Michelle Hoskins, 37, of Lakewood, was taken to County-USC, where she was reported in stable conditions with head and neck injuries.

The crash occurred about 2 a.m. in the 6100 block of Telegraph Road, Araujo said. The van was traveling north on Telegraph Road and was about to make a left turn onto the northbound Santa Ana Freeway when it was broadsided by a tan Oldsmobile Cutlass, Araujo said.

The collision caused the van to strike Hoskins’ car, a 1996 Chrysler, he said.

A blood-alcohol test on Ramirez had not been completed, but Araujo said sheriff’s deputies plan to file a charge of driving under the influence if the results show he was intoxicated at the time.

“It appears to be alcohol-related,” Araujo said.