RivCo Man Accused Of Killing Passenger In Crash, Fleeing Arraigned

RIVERSIDE, CA — A 62-year-old man accused of killing his passenger in a multi-vehicle collision in Riverside while fleeing from narcotics officers trying to arrest him for a drug transaction pleaded not guilty Wednesday to gross vehicular manslaughter and other offenses.

Ezequiel Avendano Lopez of Riverside allegedly caused the death of the 49-year-old woman, identified in court documents only as "A. Gonzalez," and injured other parties.

Along with manslaughter, Lopez is charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, transportation of drugs for sale, possession of controlled substances for sale and a sentence-enhancing allegation of being in possession of more than 20 kilograms of cocaine.

He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O'Rane, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Feb. 4 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to a bail-setting affidavit filed by the Riverside Police Department, on the afternoon of Oct. 24, Lopez went to the Corona Pointe Apartments on Pierce Street and collected two duffel bags allegedly containing 22 kilos of cocaine. The activity was under surveillance by Fontana Police Department narcotics personnel, who had been investigating the defendant for an unspecified period, the affidavit said.

After seeing Lopez load his Nissan Maxima with the bags, the officers attempted to initiate an arrest of the defendant and his passenger, but according to the affidavit, Lopez ignored the two officers who approached his car and instead floored it, accelerating to "approximately 70 mph" through the parking lot to exit the complex.

"The driver was going too fast for inside the complex," court papers stated. "While the Nissan was driving away, another Fontana police officer approached in his unmarked Ford F-150 pickup with his emergency lights and siren activated."

The officer tried to block Lopez's path, but the defendant struck the pickup and proceeded "at a high rate of speed, heading northbound," the affidavit said.

While going through the nearby intersection of Collett Avenue and Riverwalk Parkway, the defendant caused a chain collision, Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said.

A.G. was in the front passenger seat and suffered grave injuries in the crash, which the Fontana police officers discovered while trying to catch up with the defendant. Riverside patrol officers arrived moments later, Railsback said.

"Three additional people from other vehicles ... suffered only minor injuries," along with Lopez, he said.

A.G. was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where she died a short time later. The defendant was treated at the same hospital, then booked into jail. The other injured parties were treated and released from care the same day.

The narcotics investigators seized the cocaine and intend to seek criminal charges against the defendant in San Bernardino County, according to the affidavit.

Lopez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

—City News Service