A man accused of speeding through South Los Angeles and killing three women in a horrific car wreck was a known gang member on probation at the time for attempted murder, the Orange County Register reports.
Gregory Black, 31, faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter in connection with the deaths of the women, two of whom are sisters.
Authorities allege that shortly before 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Black ran a red light and plowed his Mercedes-Benz into a Honda sedan at Vermont Avenue and Century Boulevard.
Investigators say Black had reached speeds topping 100 miles per hour, which created so much force that the Honda spun five times and left mangled wreckage that “looked like a bomb went off,” Los Angeles Police Detective Ryan Moreno told reporters at a press conference, according to KABC-TV.
“Speed is just killing people in this city. It’s out of control, the amount of speed, the amount of collisions we are having happen on a day-to-day basis because of speed – I don’t know, something has to be done,” Moreno told reporters, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Black is a “well-known gang member” and is presently serving a five-year probation for attempted murder, Moreno said at the press conference. His criminal history includes 11 felony bookings and three convictions. A loaded gun was discovered inside his vehicle.
The Honda was being operated by an Uber driver. The three women who died were in the rear passenger seat are were identified as 27-year-old Kimberly Izquierdo; her sister 23-year-old Veronica Amezola; and their childhood friend 23-year-old Juvelyn Arroyo.
The Uber driver is a 38-year-old woman whose identity has not been released; she was hospitalized with massive head trauma and fractures to her neck and ribs. A fourth passenger suffered contusions to his left leg and injuries to his arms and chest.
Black also was hospitalized. In addition to the manslaughter charges, he faces special allegations of two or more prior felony convictions and aggravated circumstances of great bodily injury, according to the Register. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
“He’s going to prison,” Moreno said of Black. “It doesn’t bring back the victims. Those families right now are all suffering. One of the families, they’re preparing for two funerals, for both their daughters.”
GoFundMe accounts are raising money to help pay for funeral and memorial expenses for the sisters and Arroyo.
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[Feature Photo: (l to r) Kimberly Izquierdo, Juvelyn Arroyo, & Veronica Amezola/GoFundMe]
