$36K Rewards Offered to Find Second Driver in Fatal, Fiery Racing Crash

COMMERCE, CA - Authorities on Wednesday announced $36,000 in reward money for help finding the second motorist involved in a street race that caused a multi-vehicle pileup on the Golden State (5) Freeway in Commerce, killing three people and injuring four others.

A Whittier man, Dealio Lockhart, 35, is awaiting arraignment April 6 on three counts of second-degree murder stemming from the Feb. 27 crash.

Lockhart, who is in custody on $6.2 million bail, was allegedly behind the wheel of a 2012 Dodge Challenger during a street race against the driver of a late model, black or blue Dodge Charger just after midnight that morning.

California Highway Patrol officials said the two Dodge muscle cars were being driven aggressively, with the motorists jockeying for position near the Citadel Outlets.

When Lockhart approached a vehicle moving at normal freeway speed ahead of him, he tried to swerve around but wound up losing control of his car, according to the CHP.

The Challenger slammed into a UPS 18-wheeler, which went airborne, over the center median, and sheared off the top of an oncoming Nissan with four people inside. The truck came to rest on top of a red Ford Explorer on the northbound side of the freeway, north of Washington Boulevard, and immediately burst into flames.

Debris from the collision also struck a Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Silverado, which were on the northbound side.

The UPS driver, Scott Treadway, 52, of Mira Loma, was killed in the crash, as were people in the Nissan — Michelle Littlefield, 19, and Brian Lewandowski, 18, both of Valencia.

Lewandowski was the son of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detective Victor Lewandowski.

The other two people in the Nissan were critically injured, and two other people also were hurt.

Lockhart, who was arrested at the scene, faces up to life in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The reward money is comprised of offers from the following sources:

• $10,000 from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors;
• $5,000 from Six Flags Entertainment Corp.;
• $10,000 from United Parcel Service;
• $10,000 from Teamsters Local 396; and
• $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.

Anyone with information on the suspect or the Dodge Charger was urged to call CHP Investigator Frank Fonseca at (323) 890-4600; (800) TELL-CHP; the Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500; or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

— City News Service, photo courtesy of the CHP