ALHAMBRA — A man is suspected of drunken driving in connection with a solo-car freeway crash that killed a 21-year-old female rapper and injured four other passengers and a road worker early Thursday, authorities said.
Jacob Garcia, 47, of Pomona was booked on suspicion of felony drunken driving and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Ceasar Murillo said.
The name of the dead woman, a Los Angeles resident, was not released pending confirmation that her family members had been notified, CHP and coroner’s officials said.
The crash occurred about 12:45 a.m. in a construction zone on the westbound 10 Freeway, just east of Fremont Avenue, according to CHP logs.
“For unknown reasons, (Garcia) lost control and struck the right shoulder sound wall,” CHP Sgt. Connie Guzman said. “His vehicle spun again and the right rear of the vehicle struck a backhoe parked on the right shoulder.
It was the impact with the construction equipment that was believed to have caused the fatal injury to the 21-year-old passenger, who was sitting in the right, rear passenger seat, officials said.
She died at a hospital shortly after the crash.
Five passengers of the Mercedes-Benz C 250 sedan suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious, including a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year old boy who were both seriously injured, Guzman said.
The other injured passengers were a 26-year-old woman, a a 19-year-old man, she added. All of the injured were expected to survive.
A road worker who was sitting on the backhoe that was struck by the Mercedes also suffered minor injuries in the crash, according to the CHP.
Garcia himself was treated for minor injuries before being booked into jail, officials said.
The suspected drunken driver is an event promoter, and the dead woman was a rapper who had just finished a performance in Hesperia, Guzman said. Three of the passenger were believed to be dancers in the show.