On Wednesday, August 19th, Angel Ramirez, 38, had his arraignment before the Riverside County Superior Court, California, for his role in a street racing accident that killed two people. The man is answering to two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
The accident happened in Coachella in May 2019 and claimed the life of Sofia Prieto, 74, and Jose Prieto, 75. Ramirez has been out of jail since posting his $50,000 bail bond, and he is the second person to get arraigned in the case.
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The man’s co-accused, 28-year-old Estavan Jesus Donato remains in jail on a $250,000 bail bond. Judge Sterling Ortiz on Tuesday, August 4th, found that there was sufficient evidence for the younger man to stand trial for two counts of murder.
According to the county prosecutors, Ramirez’s Dodge Challenger struck a Ford F-150 truck carrying Jose and Sofia. The victims were attempting to make a turn across Grapefruit Boulevard near Mitchell Drive. The male victim died at the scene, while the female passed away at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Morton informed the court that witnesses reported seeing the defendant and Donato leave the intersection of Indio and Grapefruit Boulevards at top speed. The accident report alleged that the two revved their vehicles and traveled at speeds over 100 mph.
The second accused man drove an Audi sedan, and Morton said that the man fled the scene after the collision while Ramirez stayed back. The prosecutors added that the police took Donato into custody after a witness reported his license plate to a sheriff’s deputy.
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