Prosecutors: California Driver a Suspect in Two Crashes that Caused Multiple Deaths Three Months Apart
A 24-year-old Southern California woman has been named a suspect in a hit-and-run accident last Sunday that caused two deaths after also being booked on charges for allegedly causing the death of a bicyclist with her car last October.
According to Los Angeles news outlets reporting on the case, Ahkeyajahnique Owens was charged this week with vehicular manslaughter for allegedly striking a bicyclist in downtown Long Beach in October, with prosecutors also alleging that she smashed into a 2022 Nissan Altima in the same area around 10:00 p.m. January 4, causing the deaths of two people ejected from that car.
In the most recent collision, Owens’s 2021 BMW 330i also then struck a black 2017 Kia Soul, injuring three others, police investigators said according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
Prosecutors said Owens was traveling at speeds of more than 100 miles an hour in both the bicycle and car crashes, the Long Beach Post News noted.
Police said Owens was not at Sunday’s fatal accident scene when paramedics arrived.
Owens reportedly turned herself in to Long Beach police this week on the previous October crash when she found out she was a suspect. She has pleaded not guilty in that case and has been booked on a $200,000 bond.
A separate case is expected to be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in the coming days on the January 4 accident, the Times reported.
Bicyclist Raul Augustin Gallopa, 35, died days after the crash from his injuries. In the latest crash, police identified the fatal victims as 21-year-old Gilberto Lopez of Midway City and 24-year-old Bobbi Smith of Buena Park.
Smith’s cousin Jazmini Adams Smith told Fox 11:
This individual was involved in another incident in October, whom also killed someone. And so, you know, we just don’t understand, and we are very hurt that this person was out and was able to hurt someone else, our family member, and not only our family members, other victims as well. And so we want justice served.
Traffic investigators told the Times that forensic evidence and video footage helped identify Owens as the suspect in the most recent crash.
So far, police and prosecutors have not indicated whether street racing was underway at the time of the latest crash.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
