Woman jumps into out-of-control SUV in Temple City; driver suffering from medical emergency dies at hospital

TEMPLE CITY — A woman jumped into the moving vehicle of a man who was having a medical emergency and brought the car to a stop Friday, authorities said.
Despite the valiant efforts of the woman who stopped the man’s out-of-control Honda CRV, as well as a passing bus driver who performed CPR on the unconscious driver, the 53-year-old man ultimately died at a nearby hospital, Los Angeles County sheriff’s and coroner’s officials said.
Officials withheld the name of the dead man pending positive identification and confirmation that his family had been notified, coroner Lt. Larry Dietz said.
The incident unfolded about 5:40 p.m. at Rosemead Boulevard and Lower Azusa Road, Capt. Christopher Nee of the sheriff’s Temple Station said.
The CRV driver was stopped at a red light on northbound Rosemead at Lower Azusa, the captain said.
“He had some kind of medical incident and passed out at the wheel,” he said, adding that it was not immediately clear exactly what type of medical problem the man experienced.
A woman who was also stopped at the intersection noticed the man was in distress and saw his car begin moving forward on its own as the driver lost consciousness, Nee said.
“She jumped out of her car. She jumped into his car and kept control,” the captain said. “She got it off to the side of the road.”
Once the car was stopped, a man who was driving a passing privately chartered tour bus noticed the commotion and came over to help, Nee said. He performed CPR on the unconscious driver until paramedics arrived.
Rescuers rushed the man to San Gabriel Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 6:30 p.m., Dietz said.
Nee commended the good Samaritans on their “true, unselfish acts.” Their names were not available Saturday.
Though the man they were trying to save did not make it, the woman who took control of the runaway SUV undoubtedly prevented further danger, Nee said. The roadway ahead of where the car was stopped inclines downward, and the car could have picked up speed before potentially causing a dangerous crash.
“Had she not intervened, the car definitely would have moved a quarter mile more,” Nee said.
The captain said he was looking into having the good Samaritans formally recognized by the city for their actions.

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Detectives investigate death of woman at East San Gabriel home

EAST SAN GABRIEL — Sheriff’s and coroner’s investigators are looking into the death of an elderly woman whose body was found inside a home.
Though an autopsy was pending, foul play was not initially suspected, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Capt. Christopher Nee said.
The body of the woman, initially described only as elderly, was discovered about 8 p.m. in a house in the 5900 block of North Del Loma Avenue, in the unincorporated county area of East San Gabriel, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
She had not been identified Saturday, as the body was already in a state of decomposition when found, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Larry Dietz said.
A woman who lives at the home had not been seen for several weeks when concerned neighbors called the sheriff’s Temple Station and asked deputies to check on her, sheriff’s and coroner’s officials said.
Deputies discovered the body and summoned homicide investigators, who determined the death appeared to be due to natural causes, Nee said. Coroner’s investigators will perform an examination to determine the woman’s officials cause of death.

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Baldwin Park woman seriously injured in multi-car wreck on 10 Freeway in San Dimas

ViaVerde Crash

A five-vehicle crash on the 10 Freeway Saturday sent five people to the hospital, two of them via helicopter, authorities said.
The collision was first reported just before 10 a.m. on the westbound 10 Freeway at Via Verde, according to California Highway Patrol logs.
It involved a Volkswagen Beetle, a Mazda minivan, a Buick sedan, a Ford F-250 pickup truck and a Chevy Blazer SUV, which overturned, CHP Officer Roberto Jimenez said.
A 58-year-old Baldwin Park woman driving the Volkswagen had to be freed from the wreckage by firefighters, Los Angeles County Fire Department Firefighter Scott Gibbs said.
She and another woman, who was driving the Buick, were flown to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for treatment.
The Volkswagen driver suffered significant injuries including major lacerations, a dislocated hip and other trauma, Jimenez said. The woman who was driving the Buick, 50, appeared to have less serious injuries, but was also flown to the hospital as a precaution.
Rescuers landed on the eastbound lanes of the freeway to pick up the woman, officials said.
A man, woman and toddler inside the overturned SUV were taken to a hospital via ambulance for examination, though all appeared to be okay, Jimenez said.
The little boy who was riding in the SUV was properly belted in to a child safety seat.
The drivers of the pickup truck and the Mazda minivan also appeared to have suffered no significant injuries, officials said.
The chain reaction crash took place when traffic suddenly slowed do to a spun out care ahead of the crash scene, Jimenez said.
The driver of the Ford pickup truck was unable to stop in time to avoid the vehicles ahead of him and slammed into the Buick sedan at full speed, Jimenez said.
The Buick was then pushed forward into the Volkswagen, which then struck the Chevy SUV, which struck the minivan before overturning, he said.
Nothing criminal was initially suspected in what was being investigated as an accident, Jimenez said.
All traffic lanes in both directions of the 10 Freeway were briefly shut down following the crash, however a Sig Alert was not declared, CHP Officer Ed Jacobs said. The westbound lanes were directly affected by the crash, while the eastbound lanes had to be shut down to accommodate the landing of fire department helicopter.
Traffic reportedly backed up for several miles, and CHP logs listed reports of drivers exiting their vehicles and getting into fights, as well as driving over embankments and along the right shoulder to get out of the jam.
The cause of the crash was being investigated by officers from the Baldwin Park office of the CHP.

PHOTO courtesy of Mitchell Crawford, San Dimas

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Suicide prevention signs to be placed on Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena

PASADENA — City officials earlier this week approved a plan to post suicide-prevention signs on Colorado Street Bridge.
The Pasadena Public Safety Committee approved the project at their meeting Monday, Pasadena spokeswoman William Boyer said.
More than 150 people have jumped to their deaths from the bridge since the bridges first recorded suicide in 1919, city officials said. The bulk of the suicides took place during the Great Depression, however 13 suicides have occurred at the bridge since 2006.
Some have come to call the structure “Suicide Bridge” because of the deaths that have taken place there.
In an effort to combat the issue and save lives, the committee approved plans to place bearing messages of hope and suicide prevention hotline phone numbers at the pedestrian entrances to the bridge, Boyer said. The final design of the signs was not complete, however officials were considering messages such as “There is hope,” and “You are not alone.”
The signs were tentatively expected to be put in place in August.
“The key point is that we value human life and we want to keep our residents safe,” Boyer said. “There have been studies that have been done. The survivors of attempted suicide, for the most part, regret their actions.”
“We’re coming up with language and a message to give people and extra moment to contemplate what they’re doing,” Boyer said.
He added that similar programs have been successful in other jurisdictions in helping to prevent suicides by giving those who are considering taking their own lives “an extra moment to pause.”

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Pasadena bomb threat suspect sentenced

PASADENA — A judge Friday sentenced a Monrovia man accused of making bomb threats to a Pasadena middle school, the Pasadena Department of Health and a post office to 16 months in prison.
Gerardo Cortez. 25, pleaded no contest to a single count of making a false bomb report to a business or agency in April. He was initially charged with three counts of making bomb threats, three counts of making criminal threats and one count of attempting to make a criminal threat following his Oct. 25 arrest.
Pasadena Superior Court Judge Elaine Lu handed down the sentence, court officials said.
Cortez was accused of prompting the evacuation of Washington Middle School and adjacent Washington Accelerated Elementary School after making a bomb threat Oct. 24, according to Pasadena police and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials.
The following day, another bomb threat was made to the Pasadena Department of Public Health, prompting another evacuation. Cortez was also initially charged with making a bomb threat to a post office, however further details were not available.
Following his arrest about a block from health agency, Cortez told investigators he was upset over personal problems.

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Arcadia crash slows traffic on 210 Freeway

ARCADIA – A three vehicle wreck involving a big rig caused major traffic delays on the 210 Freeway Friday, but resulted in only minor injuries, authorities said.
The 11:10 a.m. crash on the westbound 210 Freeway at Santa Anita Avenue involved a big rig, a box truck and a Porsche, California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Jacobs said.
The Porsche ended up pinned against the big rig, but the driver suffered only minor injuries, the officer said. It was unclear if any others were treated for injuries as a result of the crash, though the incident involved no significant injuries.
The cause and circumstances of the crash remained under investigation by officers from the Altadena office of the CHP.
Officials initially shut down all westbound lanes of the freeway, but within half an hour, only the two right lanes of the westbound 210 Freeway remained closed, according to CHP logs. All traffic lanes were reopened at 12:48 p.m.

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Runwaway South El Monte teens sought

SEM MISSING (2)

SOUTH EL MONTE — Authorities and concerned family members are asking the public’s help in tracking down two 16-year-old girls believed to have run away from home more than a week ago.
Cynthia Gaytan and Dacia Ramos were last seen June 12 at South El Monte High School, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Loy McBride said.
The girls were believed to have run away of their own accord, and foul play was not suspected, McBride said. At least one sighting of the girls has been reported at a Long Beach restaurant where Gaytan and Ramos were eating, and they did not appear to be an any distrss.
Nonetheless, after more than a week passed since the girls vanished, family members are growing increasingly concerned and asked anyone who spots the girls to contact deputies immediately.
The girls’ online communications indicated they planned to first go to Long Beach to work and save up some money before heading to Northern California to meet someone they’d met over the Internet.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the sheriff’s Temple Station at 626-285-7171.

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El Monte family outraged over police shooting of pet German shepherd (Video)

DOGSHOT1

EL MONTE — A family expressed outrage Friday after an El Monte police officer shot their pet 2-year-old German shepherd inside their fenced-in front yard while following up on a report of a runaway teenager. The family was forced to put the dog down following the shooting.
In an encounter recorded by a home security camera shortly after 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, two police officers arrived at the home of Cathy Luu, her husband Chi Nguyen and their children in the 4700 block of Maxson Road.
“I’m hurt that they would do this to my pet, but at the same time I’m angry because they act like they don’t even care. They didn’t apologize,” Luu said through a Vietnamese translator.
Police and the family gave conflicting reports of the events leading up to the shooting.
Police said the officers shook the gate and otherwise took care to check if there were dogs present in the yard before opening the gate and entering. But a video captured by the family’s home security camera appears to support Luu’s claim that the officers simply parked their patrol car and entered the yard without checking for dogs, despite two posted “beware of dog” signs, including one mounted to the gate itself.
After being shot, the wounded dog ran to the backyard of the home. It was later euthanized at a veterinary hospital.
The loss of the female German shepherd, named Kiki, devastated the family, Luu said, especially the couple’s 11-year-old son.
“She was his baby,” the mother son. “He cried all night. He still cries.”
In addition to the death of the dog, family members said they were concerned about the safety of an officer firing a gun in a neighborhood crowded with children.
There were four children present at the home when the shooting occurred, and a children’s pool party was taking place in a front yard across the street, according to the family and the video.
“What if my son ran outside behind the dog?” Luu said. “When I think about it, it’s scary.”
El Monte police Capt. Dan Buehler said the officers had an appointment to meet with Luu and Nguyen about 3:30 p.m., but were delayed and ended up arriving about 4:30 p.m.
“They did go up to the front (gate),” the captain said. “There was a beware of dog sign on the gate. They did what we always do as police officers. They shook the gate. They didn’t see any dogs.”
“They looked for any signs of dogs — chew toys, dog mess, what have you,” Buehler said, adding that they entered the yard after not seeing anything indicating a dog was present.
“They walked up to the porch. They rang the doorbell. They knocked on the door. That’s when the first dog came around the house,” he said.
One of the officers is seen on the video petting the pit bull before returning to the gate, which had been left open by the officers, and closing it. The male officer was outside the closed gate when the second officer, a female, was confronted by the German shepherd.
“Then the German shepherd came from behind the house,” Buehler said. “The German shepherd came up. It was much more aggressive than the pit bull. It was growling, it was barking.”
The (female) officer remained on the porch and continued knocking on the front door with her foot as the German shepherd charged toward her, he said.
“As the dog got to about three feet of this officer, this officer had no other choice than to fire a round,” Buehler said.
The dog was struck in the side.
The video, however, depicts the officers walking up to the gate, opening it and entering, seemingly without breaking stride…

FULL STORY and VIDEO

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Police checkpoint planned in Pasadena

PASADENA — Police plan to check motorists for sobriety, as well as valid driver licenses, during checkpoint this weekend.
The checkpoint will take place from 7 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday at an undisclosed location within Pasadena, Pasadena police officials said in a written statement.
It’s being funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Two jailed after wild chase through West Covina

WEST COVINA — Sheriff’s deputies arrested an alleged drunken driver and his passenger Thursday following a wild pursuit in a stolen car that ended in West Covina.
Driver Jose Manuel Gamboa, 36, and passenger Juan Carlos Mejia, 23, were arrested following the pursuit, which initiated shortly after 9 a.m. in at Ballentine Place and Yaleton Avenue, in an unincorporated county area just north of West Covina, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. David Vega said. Their cities of residence were not clear.
Gamboa was booked on suspicion of possession of a stolen car, unlawful taking of a vehicle, felony evading, reckless driving and assault with a deadly weapon, Vega said.
The assault allegation was stemmed from a collision between the fleeing stolen car and a civilian vehicle during the brief pursuit, which officials said appeared to be intentional. No one was hurt in the crash.
Mejia, who was already on probation, was ultimately booked on suspicion of unlawful taking of a vehicle, Vega said.
After Gamboa refused to pull over for deputies, a chase began which wound around West Covina streets and down the 10 Freeway, officials said. The car traveled at high speeds on surface streets while weaving in and out of traffic.
It came to an end when the car began smoking and came to a stop at Barranca Street and Virginia Avenue in West Covina.
Gamboa and Mejia were then taken into custody without a struggle.
Los Angeles County booking records indicated Gamboa, who was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail, and Mejia, who was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail, were scheduled to appear for arraignment Monday in West Covina Superior Court.

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