Suspect in Fatal Crash that Killed 2 Arrested

SOUTH GATE, CA - A man suspected of causing a hit-and-run collision in South Gate that killed two people, including a 15-year-old girl, and injured five others was arrested Tuesday.

Bryan Rojas, 22, was arrested around 1 p.m. in East Los Angeles, according to Capt. Darren Arakawa of the South Gate Police Department.

Rojas was being held in lieu of $300,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Downey Superior Court.

Rojas was suspected of causing the two-vehicle crash that occurred at 4:34 p.m. Saturday near Garfield Avenue and El Paseo, Arakawa said. One of the vehicles careened into a pole.

Killed in the crash were Angie Ruiz, 15, and Lester Larios, 55, both of Bell. Five other people were injured, three of them critically.

Police said the Mitsubishi they were in was rammed by Mercedes-Benz, allegedly driven by Rojas. The driver of the Mitsubishi was turning into the Town Center Plaza mall when the vehicle was struck by the Mercedes. It was unclear if the Mercedes-Benz driver ran a red light.

Police said Rojas fled the scene of the crash, in which he suffered an injury to his forehead.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of the South Gate Police Department