The case against a Los Angeles man, accused of intentionally crashing into pedestrians crossing Shoreline Drive in Long Beach before plowing into stopped cars at a red light last year, will go to trial after a judge Monday, July 15, ruled prosecutors had enough evidence against him.
Khalid Yagobbi, 47, faces a count of murder, four counts of attempted murder and four counts of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the Oct. 14 crash that left 60-year-old Romelia Cuarenta-Aguilar dead and several others injured. Yagobbi was operating as an Uber driver when the crash occurred.
Superior Court Judge James D. Otto took several minutes before making the ruling.
“This is a very close case,” he said.
The judge also lowered Yagobbi’s bail to $100,000 on the condition Yagobbi wears a GPS monitor, surrenders his passport and driver’s license and does not drive.
Should the case make it to trial, jurors will likely be tasked with deciding whether the crash was an intentional act, or the result of a medical event.
Yagobbi was driving eastbound on Shoreline Drive with a passenger in the backseat when, without warning, his vehicle traveled into the westbound lanes of traffic at Chestnut Place and continued until he ran a red light at Aquarium Way, hitting a group of pedestrians before slamming into cars waiting at a red light on the opposite side of the intersection.
Yagobbi’s defense attorney, Michael Levin, in arguing for the charges to be dismissed, said the crash was a “horrible accident” that occurred because Yagobbi suffered a medical event while behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Bolt hatchback.
In the weeks leading up to the crash, Yagobbi had sought medical attention after experiencing brain fog and forgetfulness at least two to three times per week, but was never diagnosed, nor was he advised that he shouldn’t be driving, Levin said. Yagobbi had an MRI four days prior to the crash, but the results had not yet come in.
While in jail, Yagobbi has suffered multiple seizures. Daniel Gonzalez, a cellmate of Yagobbi’s who was recently released from jail, testified that Yagobbi would have a “deer-in-the-headlights” look in his eyes, would go stiff and would shake. At least once, Gonzalez said, Yagobbi had a grin on his face before he came to.
“I don’t think there’s any question he was having a seizure,” Levin argued.
Prosecutor Karen Brako, in arguing for the murder charge under the implied malice theory, said Yagobbi had knowledge of the effects of his condition, which was “significant enough that he sought treatment,” and continued to operate as an Uber driver. She pointed to a prior instance in which he described finding himself stopped in the middle of the freeway and people were honking at him.
She said surveillance video showing the crash, which showed the car making a “smooth transition” into the opposing lanes of traffic and avoiding another car in a left turn lane before continuing toward the scene of the crash, showed intent.
“He wouldn’t have been able to control the vehicle (if he had a seizure),” Brako said, “but its perfectly straight.”
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Samuel Chatam Jr., who testified Wednesday that he was in the backseat of Yagobbi’s car that night, said Yagobbi stared straight ahead as the car crossed into opposing lanes of traffic and ran the red light. He never acknowledged Chatam, who was yelling from the back seat after Yagobbi started going the wrong way, nor did he apply the brakes or attempt to steer clear of the pedestrians.
During brief testimony from Long Beach police Detective Juan Carlos Reyes Monday, Aguilar was identified in surveillance video walking northbound in a crosswalk across Shoreline Drive with a backpack on and moving to the left of a group of people headed southbound when she was struck first by Yagobbi’s Bolt.
The force of the collision sent Aguilar careening several feet into the median of the roadway, eventually ending up out of the camera’s frame in the eastbound lanes of traffic.
During an interview with detectives, Yagobbi appeared calm, Reyes testified, questioned what had happened and told detectives he couldn’t recall what occurred.
Reyes said both police and the FBI searched Yagobbi’s home, adding the FBI thought the crash may have been an act of terrorism as it happened a week after a Hamas-led attack on Israel, but the FBI never informed Long Beach police of any findings.
The crash was caught on a city camera posted on the southeast corner of the intersection. Three other camera angles caught the white hatchback crossing over into opposing lanes at Chestnut Place, about a block from the crash.