Suspected street racer still at large after fiery crash that killed three
A California Highway Patrol investigator at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash on the 5 Freeway in Commerce on Saturday. Three people died in the crash, with others wounded.
Authorities are continuing to search for the driver of one of two vehicles that caused a deadly multi-vehicle crash during a street race on the 5 Freeway near Commerce just after midnight Saturday.
Three people were killed and several others injured after one of the suspected street racers lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a UPS truck, causing the big rig to flip over the median, smash into oncoming traffic and explode. The big rig collided with a gray Nissan, sheared its top off and came to rest atop of a red Ford Explorer.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has not released the names of the man and the two other people killed. But Teamsters Local 396, a labor union, posted on Facebook on Sunday morning that UPS truck driver Scott Treadway was one of the people who died in the accident.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department identified one of the other victims as 18-year-old Brian Lewandowski, whose father is a homicide lieutenant with the department.
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“Brian was an incredible young man and every parent’s dream for a son. We are absolutely devastated by our loss,” wrote the family in a statement.
The third victim was named as Michelle Littlefield in a Facebook post from St. James Holy Redeemer School in Montrose, which identified Littlefield as a member of the class of 2010.
Neither the coroner’s office nor the California Highway Patrol would confirm those names.
Initial reports about the crash said that two women were also killed.
No other information was immediately available about the third victim.
Dealio Lockhart, 35, of Whittier was arrested at the scene and will face vehicular manslaughter charges. Lockhart, who drove the Dodge Challenger, admitted to authorities that he had been racing.
The other suspect was last seen driving a Dodge Charger. There hasn’t been any progress to report on the search, said Officer Tony Polizzi of the California Highway Patrol.
Several victims were transported to the hospital with critical injuries, but their conditions remain unchanged, Polizzi said.
The accident shut down that section of the 5 Freeway for most of the day, and all lanes were reopened around midnight Saturday. Two other accidents, including one with a fatality, also closed multiple lanes on the freeway that day.
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