3 Killed, 2 Hurt in Car Crash Near LAX

Alcohol apparently played a role in a single-vehicle accident that killed three people and injured two others Sunday night near Los Angeles International Airport, police said.

The driver of the 1988 Toyota Tercel--20-year-old Walter Mazariegos, of Inglewood--was arrested after Los Angeles police found that he displayed signs of driving under the influence, said Officer Trevion Stokes. Mazariegos was booked for felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, Stokes said.

Mazariegos was accompanied in the car by four adult male passengers, all believed to be in their 20s, when the accident occurred at 11:15 p.m. on Lincoln Boulevard just south of Loyola Boulevard in the Westchester area, authorities said.

Roberto Bonilla, 19, was one of three men killed in the crash. Police did not release the names of the other passengers pending notification of next of kin.

According to an eyewitness, Mazariegos was traveling between 60 and 70 mph when he lost control of his car and drove onto the center divider, authorities said.

Two passengers sitting in the rear seats were ejected from the car and landed 10 to 15 feet away on the roadway, said Sgt. Joanna Linfield, of the West Traffic Division. One of the ejected passengers died at the scene; the other was taken to UCLA Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Monday, Linfield said.

Bonilla and another passenger, still inside the car when it came to rest in northbound lanes, were pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said. Mazariegos walked away with minor injuries and was treated and released at UCLA Medical Center, Linfield said.