A man was charged Thursday for a suspected DUI crash that killed a couple and their young daughter while leaving a toddler hospitalized in South Los Angeles.
The suspect was identified as Jordan Kahari Isaac, 22, by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
On Dec. 31, Isaac is accused of driving while intoxicated. He crashed into a vehicle, causing injury while fleeing the scene and speeding on, authorities said.
At around 11:20 p.m., a family of four was driving at the intersection of Normandie Avenue and 60th Street in the Harvard Park neighborhood.
Isaac, who was driving over 60 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone, ran through a stop sign and slammed into the family’s vehicle, according to Los Angeles police.
The violent impact forced the family’s car into a street sign, killing Jose Manuel Pasgagasa, 49, on impact. His wife, Luisa Arenas, 26, and their two daughters — 5-year-old Mia and 1-year-old Hanna — were all transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Arenas and 5-year-old Mia later died from their injuries. One-year-old Hanna was the sole survivor who remains hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Moments before the crash, surveillance cameras captured the suspect’s SUV speeding down a side street followed by a red sedan. According to police, the driver of the red car had just been rear-ended by Isaac and was chasing it.
Neighbors said the red car stopped at the stop sign while the suspect plowed through it.
Video from the scene showed the destructive aftermath as both vehicles were destroyed and debris was dispersed across the roadway.
“The collision was so violent, with so much force that it sent that vehicle onto the southwest corner [of the intersection], knocking over the street sign, the fence,” said Sgt. Ryan Moreno with LAPD’s South Traffic Division.
Several good Samaritans heard the crash and were seen running over to try to help as smoke started coming from the car. Witnesses said the crash sounded like an explosion.
Loved ones are devastated as the family of four had moved to Los Angeles from Colombia just a year ago.
“Mr. Isaac’s negligence and disregard for the safety of others resulted in the tragic death of a father, mother and their five-year-old child,” L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón. “Not only was this young family destroyed, but left behind a one-year-old who was also injured in the crash and now left to live a life without their family. Such reckless actions demand severe consequences, and I hope others learn from this senseless tragedy.”
Isaac was charged with three counts of murder, three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one count of driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury, and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in injury to another person.
He is being held on $6.1 million bail. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
If convicted on all charges, Isaac will face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
A GoFundMe page was created to help the victims’ family with medical and funeral expenses.