A man was charged with three counts of murder after police said he was under the influence of alcohol when his SUV plowed into a car in Pomona over the weekend, killing three women.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said on Tuesday, March 5, that his office was charging 36-year-old Victor Siharath, a Pomona resident, with murder in the crash because he had a previous DUI conviction in San Bernardino County in 2014.
Siharath, Gascón said, should have understood the dangers of drinking and driving.
“The court (at that time) made him aware that driving under the influence could cause death,” Gascón said.
Siharath remained in jail. His bail amount had not been set.
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Police in Pomona arrested Siharath shortly after his Toyota 4Runner, headed eastbound on Phillips Boulevard, ran a red light and slammed into a Toyota Corolla headed north on White Avenue, authorities said.
Among the three women who died inside the Corolla was the driver, 58-year-old Lorena Morales of Montclair. Her husband, 56-year-old Juan Garcia, was injured but survived.
The two other women were sisters-in-law Alejandra Olaez and Yesenia Olaez, both 33-year-olds from Pomona. Alejandra Olaez’s 12-year-old daughter was also in the car and injured.
They were on their way home after attending a baby shower for Morales’ niece in Moreno Valley.
Cindy Ramos, a cousin of Yesenia Olaez’s, spoke inside the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday after Gascón announced the charges.
“This guy was very irresponsible — he was very inconsiderate,” Ramos said.
Alejandra Olaez was a mother of three children. Yesenia Olaez was trying to adopt a nephew.
“(The kids) kind of understand what’s going on, and kind of don’t,” Ramos said. “They miss their mothers.”
Ramos indicated that the family was told there may have been another person inside Siharath’s SUV at the time of the crash. But when pressed on the possible passenger, Gascón declined to say whether police were looking for another person.
Gascón said Siharath initially tested for a 0.15% blood-alcohol level, well above the legal limit of 0.08%. But he said that measure was a preliminary result and that police were still expected to release an official result.