Before a wrong-way crash killed six people last weekend, at least a half dozen drivers called 911 to report someone barreling against traffic on two freeways east of Los Angeles, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday.
The first call came in at 4:40 a.m. Sunday, according to CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos. The crash happened four minutes later.
At least six 911 calls reporting a wrong-way driver on State Routes 57 and 60 near Diamond Bar have been connected to the crash, Villalobos said, but there have been more calls made.
Olivia Culbreath, 21, has been charged with six counts of murder in the pre-dawn crash. She allegedly drove her red Chevrolet Camaro the wrong way on two freeways before colliding head-on into a Ford Explorer at more than 100 mph, investigators said.
She was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday but was in the jail ward at a hospital recovering from injuries she suffered from the crash. Bail has been set at $6 million. If convicted, she could face life in prison, prosecutors said.
Among those killed in the crash that left the vehicles mangled beyond recognition were four family members driving home from a trip to San Manuel Casino.
Gregorio Mejia-Martinez, 47; his wife Leticia Ibarra, 42; his daughter Jessica Jasmine Mejia, 20; and his 85-year-old mother Ester Delgado, all of Huntington Park, died in the crash. They were remembered at a prayer vigil on Wednesday in East Los Angeles.
California
Kristin Melissa Young, 21, of Chino and Culbreath's sister, Maya Louise Culbreath, 24 of Rialto, were passengers in Culbreath's car and were also killed in the crash.
In 2009, when Olivia Culbreath was 16 years old, she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the California DMV. She was convicted in the case in April 2010 and her license was revoked.
