Photos courtesy of Long Beach Fire Department
UPDATE Monday, June 6, 10:01am | Editor’s note: This update is written by Managing Editor Allison Jean Eaton.
A Long Beach teen was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison last week in connection with a drag racing accident on the Peninsula that killed four people last year.
Denis Alberto Reyes, 18, received his sentence on Wednesday, June 1, after pleading no contest to four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one count of auto theft and one count of hit-and-run causing death.
Reyes was 17 in August 2010 when the stolen 1997 Ford Taurus he was racing down Ocean Boulevard collided with the 2003 Ford Mustang he was racing near the intersection of Ocean and 55th Place just after midnight on Aug. 22, 2010.
The Mustang spun out of control and slammed into the Peninsula’s stone welcome sign, causing two of the vehcicle’s three passengers and the driver to be ejected. Candice Bustamonte, 32, a mother of five, Delsya Castro, 16, and driver Jesus Heredia Calixto, 18, all died at the scene.
The third passenger, 19-year-old Javier Marquez Jr., died the following day due to his injuries.
Reyes and his passenger, 18-year-old Daniel Estrada, fled the scene and were later apprehended by police.
UPDATE 10:00am Tuesday | The two males in the stolen green Ford Taurus that fled from the scene of the crash will likely face charges of manslaughter and murder among others, according to the Press-Telegram today. A 17-year old juvenile was driving the car, and police originally thought that the passenger was a juvenile, but is actually an 18-year old adult. From reporter Kelly Puente:
Daniel Estrada, 18, is expected to be charged with vehicular manslaughter, vehicle theft and felony hit and run, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.
The driver, a 17-year-old whose name was not released, is expected to be charged with murder, vehicle theft and felony hit and run.
UPDATE 9:30am Monday | The Press-Telegram today reports that the names of two of the three people killed in the crash have been released. The driver of the Mustang was 18-year old Jesus Heredia Calixto and his passenger was 32-year old Candice Ann Bustamante. Another passenger has still not been identified.
One other unidentified passenger was ejected from the vehicle but survived and remains in critical condition in a Long Beach hospital. Two 17-year old boys who were driving the stolen Ford Taurus fled the scene, but are in Police custody. The driver was unlicensed. The Press-Telegram story by Kelly Puente paints a grisly portrait of the aftermath, and reports that many Peninsula residents hear cars street racing down Ocean Boulevard quite often [PT].
UPDATE 2:30pm Sunday | A statement from the Long Beach Police Department has confirmed details that were earlier reported by the Los Angeles Times, mainly that all six people involved in the accident were Long Beach residents, that the green Ford Taurus pictured here was stolen, and that the two 17-year old occupants of the Taurus were uninjured, fled the scene and are now in Police custody.
In the black Ford Mustang that collided with the Taurus and slammed into the iconic Peninsula marker sign, the 18-year old driver was killed as were two of the three people ejected from the car on impact. The one survivor was ejected and remains in critical condition. The deceased include an unidentified female, a 32-year old female and the 18-year old male driver. The victim in critical condition is 19 years old.
There have been no indications as to whether or not alcohol was involved in the incident.
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UPDATE 11:35am | The Los Angeles Times is now reporting that the two cars involved in last night’s deadly accident were street racing when the black Ford Mustang and green Ford Taurus pictured in this article collided, that the Taurus was stolen, that the driver of that car was unlicensed, that both 17-year old Long Beach residents who fled that car were apprehended, and that all three of the deceased were Long Beach residents as well. [LAT]
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9:20am | Three people were killed in a horrific car accident early Sunday morning when two cars veered off the road and slammed into a concrete sign. The incident occurred just after midnight on Sunday, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
Two cars were involved in an apparently high-speed collision that caused severe damage and a tragic loss of life at the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and 55th Place, on the upscale Peninsula region of south Long Beach.
In one car, firefighters found that three people had been ejected from the vehicle after it collided with a concrete sign. Two of the ejected victims and one still inside the car were determined dead on the scene. One of those ejected victims was found in severe condition and quickly transported to a local hospital.
Witnesses said that two people that were inside the other vehicle fled the scene. The Fire Department says that one of them may have been apprehended by Police but there is no official word from the proper authorities yet.
More information to come…
