"Ghost Tire Memorial" placed where three Uber passengers died in crash
A "Ghost Tire Memorial" was placed at the South Los Angeles intersection where three young women riding in an Uber were killed in a high-speed crash.
Gregory Black, the 31-year-old driver who sped through the intersection, was charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter.
The memorial was placed by 'Streets Are For Everyone,' a nonprofit traffic-safety advocacy group, which seeks to end traffic caused fatalities, and 'Faith for SAFE Streets,' the faith-based coalition formed by the group, which focuses on the hardest-hit areas of South Los Angeles.
The crash happened about 5:25 a.m. on Saturday at Vermont Avenue and Century Boulevard, several blocks west of the Harbor (110) Freeway.
According to police, Black was driving a Mercedes-Benz north on Vermont Avenue at speeds approaching 100 mph in a 35 mph zone when he ran a red light and crashed into an Uber with five people inside.
Black suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital and later arrested.
23-year-old Juvelyn Arroyo, of San Juan Capistrano; 23-year-old Veronica Amezola, of Santa Ana; and 27-year-old Kimberly Izquierdo, all residents of Santa Ana, were killed in the crash. They were all passengers in the Uber vehicle.
Izquierdo and Amezola were sisters, and they had been friends with Arroyo since childhood, relatives wrote on GoFundMe pages established of behalf of both families.
The Uber driver, a 38-year-old woman, and a male passenger both suffered lesser injuries from the crash and are expected to survive.
Black was charged Tuesday with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, according to police and court records. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment at the Compton Courthouse on August 29 and is due back in court on Tuesday, August 5, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.
Black remains jailed in lieu of $4 million bail, according to jail records.
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Ryan Moreno said the investigation into the crash is ongoing, and it was unclear if drugs or alcohol played a role in the collision.
Black, known as a "gang member with 11 prior arrests," was serving a five-year probation for attempted murder at the time of the collision, LAPD Det. Moreno said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Moreno said he is committed to ensuring that people who speed and cause fatal traffic collisions will go to prison.
"It doesn't bring back the victims. These families are suffering right now. One of the families, they're preparing for two funerals, both of their daughters," Moreno said.
Moreno said there has been a large number of speed-related crashes in the area in recent weeks, saying there have been 70 traffic-related fatalities within the LAPD's South Traffic Division this year.
The two groups who organized the memorial also highlighted the need to address speeding by re-engineering streets to force drivers to drive at safer speeds. They are also calling on the Legislature to pass Assembly Bill 645, which would create a pilot program in six California cities to install speed cameras, with a priority around schools, high-injury networks and known street racing corridors.
According to Damian Kevitt, executive director of 'Streets Are For Everyone,' speed cameras are used in over 150 cities across the nation and have a proven track record of reducing crashes and fatalities. AB 645 is awaiting review in the Senate Appropriations Committee. According to Kevitt's organization, Los Angeles saw a record 312 fatalities in 2022 and speed has been the single-largest factor in traffic collisions every year since before 2011. According to LAPD data, there have been 194 fatalities in 2023 as of August 12.
Meanwhile, the GoFundMe page set up on behalf of Juvelyn Arroyo's family had raised more than $16,000 as of Thursday afternoon. A page on behalf of Izquierdo and Amezola's family had raised more than $38,000.
Family members said the group had attended a concert in South Los Angeles and were on their way home when the crash occurred.
"Kimberly (Izquierdo) and Vero (Amezola) were both bright and full of life, with so much more life to live and gave so much love through their kindness, intelligence, compassion, and joy," according to the GoFundMe page.
Kimberly had just graduated from nursing school and was achieving her goals of moving up in the medical field. She is an intelligent and dedicated student and was also involved in her dance team during her time at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Veronica was a bright student who graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt. She spent her time doing field research amongst the Redwoods and was interested in environmental science. She recently got a job with the County of Orange working with animals and was looking forward to the start of a bright future.
