Crime & Safety
Update: Street Racing Crash Kills 90-year-old Woman
The woman was ejected from a vehicle, authorities said.
A 90-year-old woman was killed Christmas night when her the van she was riding in was struck by an apparent street racer, and two men have been arrested.
Two men were arrested and booked today for suspicion of felony drunken driving , and may face other charges for the death.
Cilia La Torre, 90, of West Covina, had just been released from Queen of the Valley Hospital and was seated in a wheelchair secured in a van driven by her son, Jaime Ochoa, when it was struck, according to a police statement.
Find out what's happening in Diamond Bar-Walnutwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
La Torre was thrown from the van by the impact of the crash, and pronounced dead at the scene. Ochoa was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center where he was treated for head trauma, authorities said.
Vincent Lopez, 30, and Victor Hugo Sanchez, 34, both of Rialto, were seen street racing on Lark Ellen Avenue in West Covina at about 9 p.m. Tuesday, moments before the crash.
Find out what's happening in Diamond Bar-Walnutwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Prior to the crash, witnesses reported seeing Lopez and Sanchez run a stop sign at the corner of Lark Ellen and Merced avenues, near the collision site.
Both had been drinking in a bar in the 200 block of South Glendora Avenue within an hour before the incident, detectives said.
Following the crash, Lopez was taken to the Queen of the Valley Hospital for treatment of leg injuries.
The men are scheduled to appear in West Covina Superior Court on December 28, at 8:30 a.m.
West Covina Police were looking for witnesses who may have seen the two vehicles involved in the racing and collision. Tipsters were urged to contact the West Covina Police Department at (626) 939-8500.
