Man Held After Spectator Is Slain, 2 Wounded in Drag Race Shootings

A dispute between two spectators at the Irwindale Speedway on Thursday night ended in a shooting that left one dead and two bystanders wounded.

Leo Elder, 35, of Los Angeles died at a hospital after he was shot once in the back, police said. The suspect, Ramon Reyes, 20, was arrested in the parking lot and held on $1-million bail.

About 2,000 people in the stands had been watching street legal races, in which drivers of modified passenger cars, trucks or motorcycles compete on an eighth-mile straightaway.

Irwindale Police Chief Joseph De Ladurantey said Elder had been sitting a few rows in front of Reyes. The two exchanged words throughout the night, De Ladurantey said.

When the races ended at 10 p.m., Elder apparently approached Reyes and a fistfight began. Reyes shot Elder and fired at a group of people walking past the grandstands, wounding a woman and man, both 18, De Ladurantey said.

He tried to flee in a sport utility vehicle with four men who hadn’t been involved in the shooting, De Ladurantey said. They were being treated as witnesses, he said.

The street legal races will continue, said an Irwindale Speedway spokesman, Doug Stokes, but the racetrack will examine its security measures.

The events, which typically draw at least 200 cars, started in March as a collaboration between local police and the Speedway as a safer alternative to racing on residential streets.

“This is really a tragedy for a very positive program,” De Ladurantey said

Illegal street racing has long been a problem in Los Angeles County, particularly in the San Fernando Valley.

Citing safety concerns caused by illegal street racing, the Los Angeles City Council took emergency action Friday to close a section of Glenoaks Boulevard in Sun Valley over the next four weekend nights.

The council authorized blocking traffic between Peoria and Sheldon Streets from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends through Sept. 7 to allow police to develop a permanent plan to combat racing.

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Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.