One person was killed and two injured in a car-to-car shooting crash on the 60 Freeway in Hacienda Heights. The shooting was reported to California Highway Patrol around 12:30 on Saturday. It is not clear what led to the shooting, however, the driver of the car got killed in the shooting. Car Accident took place in evening on highway
The victim Luis Mendoza was driving a white Chevy Avalanche and he was accompanied by his two teenage sons. 35-year-old Mendoza sustained some gunshot injuries when his car was shot at, the car then crashed on the eastbound side of the freeway near 7th Street.
According to the witness statements, a passenger sitting on the right front seat of a gray compact car stuck their hand out with a handgun and began firing at the Chevy Avalanche. After Mendoza was shot he lost control of the vehicle and it first collided with a white KIA and then collided into a sound wall located on the right side of the freeway.
After the crash, the three occupants of the Avalanche were transported to the LA County USC Hospital where Louis Mendoza was declared dead due to gunshot wounds. His two sons aged 13 and 16 were injured and being treated. The 13-year-old boy is in serious condition whereas the 16-year-old boy has sustained minor injuries.
The reason for what led to the shooting and the identity of the gunman is unknown. The search is on for the gunman and a supposed gray Toyota Corolla or Camry car.
California Gun Crimes with car-to-car shooting
Gun shootings in California are considered serious criminal offenses. Society at large sympathizes with the victims of gun crimes, causing outrage against the perpetrators and their crimes. Therefore gun crimes carry harsh penalties and punishments with far-reaching consequences.
California Weapon Charges
Penal Code 26100 outlines the law against shooting from a vehicle. The law aims to prohibit, but also strives to criminalize the following actions:
• It is illegal permitting a passenger to enter their vehicle with a gun. Any person who willfully allows a passenger to carry a gun in the vehicle can be charged and held on trial in a criminal court.
• If an individual fires a gun from a vehicle both the owner of the vehicle and the person who fires can be charged for the crime. The prosecutor can bring on charges of misdemeanor or felony depending on the extremity of the situation.
• Shooting from a vehicle and shooting at someone from a vehicle is different. The former can be treated as either a misdemeanor or felony, but the latter is a serious crime that may cause injury or death and is treated as a felony.
The penalties vary from $1,000 fines for some minor offenses to imprisonment upwards to seven years for major crimes. If found guilty under this Penal Code, the guilty may face future revocation of their right to own a firearm. A conviction may also get a strike under the California Law.
California Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in a shooting accident lawsuit, you have the right to recover damages through civil litigation. You can bring on a civil lawsuit against not only the shooter but also any parties that may have been negligent, causing the shooting.
We at Khashan Law are professional personal injury lawyers, we have represented several gun crime victims and regularly brought civil lawsuits against the shooter and third parties whose negligence helped create the conditions that allowed the crime and shooting to take place. Contact us at 951.461.2387 for a free and confidential consultation today.