UPDATED: Passenger killed, driver accused of DUI in West Covina solo-car crash; Suspect and victim both from Baldwin Park

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WEST COVINA >> A Baldwin Park man riding as a passenger in the car of an alleged drunken driver died late Friday in a solo-car crash in West Covina, authorities said.
Aldo Armando Dominguez, 24, of Baldwin Park died at the scene of the 11:45 p.m. crash in the 2700 block of Hillside Drive, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. David Smith said.
Dominguez was riding as a rear passenger in a Honda sedan being driven by 27-year-old Felipe Lamas-Spino of Baldwin Park, West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said. Police booked Lamas-Spino on suspicion of felony drunken driving and vehicular manslaughter. He suffered no significant injuries.
0215_NWS_SGT-L-WCRASH2Another young man riding as a front passenger in the Honda also escaped significant injury, Lopez said.
Lamas-Spino lost control of the car as he drove west through the residential neighborhood, according to the corporal.
“Speed appears to be a factor,” he said.
The Honda struck the curb and smashed into a tree before overturning and coming to rest against a wall, Lopez said. The impact snapped a tree in half and created massive cracks in a stone retaining wall
Paramedics pronounced Dominguez dead at the scene, Lopez said. He was not believed to have been wearing a seat belt.
Two white candles and a small white cross marked the scene of the crash Saturday.
A nearby resident, who declined to giver her name, said she heard the loud crash from her home but did not know how it happened.
She said she was saddened to learn that a young man had died as a result of the crash.
Family members of Dominguez could not be reached for comment.
The crash occurred on an curving, uphill section of the road.
A cement mailbox pillar next to the destroyed tree had been dislodged by a previous crash about two months ago, the neighbor said.
Lamas-Spino was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail pending a scheduled arraignment Wednesday in West Covina Superior Court, county booking records show.
Witnesses to the crash are encouraged to contact West Covina police at 939-8500, or the department’s 24-hour tip hotline at 626-939-8668.

 

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