Man Accused in Fatal Street Race in Coachella Pleads Not Guilty
Man Accused in Fatal Street Race in Coachella Pleads Not Guilty
by Contributing Editor
One of two men accused in a street racing collision that fatally injured two senior citizens in Coachella last year pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges.
Angel Ramirez was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Burke Strunsky at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He kept the defendant’s bail at $50,000 and scheduled a felony settlement conference for Dec. 4.
The 38-year-old Coachella resident is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the May 17, 2019, crash that killed Sofia Prieto, 74, and her husband, Jose Prieto, 75.
His co-defendant — 28-year-old Estevan Jesus Donato of Coachella — is further along in the legal process compared to Ramirez. Donato, who remains in custody on $250,000 bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, is scheduled to return to court for a trial-readiness conference on Nov. 12.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for Donato on two second-degree murder counts following a preliminary hearing on July 23.
According to prosecutors, the Prietos’ Ford F-150 truck was struck while making a turn across Grapefruit Boulevard near Mitchell Drive.
Testifying at Donato’s preliminary hearing, Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. David Morton said a witness reported seeing the two cars involved in the crash — an Audi sedan and Dodge Challenger — at the intersection of Indio and Grapefruit boulevards, about two miles north of the crash site. The witness reported hearing the engines revving at the intersection before both cars took off, reaching speeds upward of 100 mph.
The Challenger, allegedly driven by Ramirez, hit the F-150, while the Audi — allegedly driven by Donato — sped off and was later located after a witness reported the car’s license plate to a sheriff’s deputy, according to prosecutors.
Jose Prieto died at the scene of the crash, and Sofia Prieto died at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio.
Neither defendant has any felony convictions in Riverside County.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
