Oct 10, 2007 8:13 pm US/Pacific
2 Reseda Drivers Face Murder Charge If Child Dies
RESEDA, Calif. (CBS) ―
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A mother and her two children were crushed between two parked cars after a road range incident crashed into one of the cars.
CBS
Two men accused of attempted murder in a road rage crash that critically injured a mother and her two young children could be charged with murder if one of the children, who was on life support, dies, authorities said Wednesday.
Brian Barnes, 44, of Northridge, and Armando Gamboa Ayon, 19, of Pacoima, were driving a black Nissan and a red Camaro Tuesday afternoon on West Sherman Way, between Balboa Boulevard and Louise Avenue, when they got into a dispute, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Ayon, who was driving the Nissan, lost control and plowed into the rear of a parked car, knocking it into a second parked car.
A 31-year-old woman and her two children -- a 4-year-old boy and 2-month-old girl -- who were between the two parked cars, were crushed, said Officer Jason Lee.
The three, all natives of India, remain hospitalized in critical condition.
Both Ayon and Barnes were booked on suspicion of attempted murder and are being held on $1.5 million bail each. In the event any of the victims die, those charges will likely be upgraded to murder, authorities said.
"This incident did not have to happen," LAPD Capt. Ron Marbrey said at a late-morning news conference. "The mother ... is probably going to lose a leg, and the other leg is severely crushed."
Because of her medical condition, she is not being told about the conditions of her children.
Her husband, Amir Arif said "It's real bad, my son ... I love him so much." Arif said that 80 percent of his son's brain is gone and "it's a matter of time that doctor will take out his life support ... my son dies."
Los Angeles police Detective Bill Butos said the motorists were "cutting each other off, they were jockeying for position. They were tapping on the brakes, one of the vehicles was tapping on the brakes, trying to cause the other vehicle to ram into the vehicle. They cannot point to the other individual and say, well, that person started it."
Capt. Mike Moore said, "This is not a fight of a 5-year-old on a playground."
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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