A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment after authorities accused him of causing a crash on the 5 Freeway in Lebec, near Pyramid Lake, killing two children in his SUV on Christmas Day.
Jorge Preciado was behind the wheel of a Nissan Rogue traveling northbound near Vista Del Lago Road when he allegedly lost control and slammed into the back of a Toyota Rav4, which was stopped in the median, California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez said.
Inmate records show a Jorge Everardo Preciado as being booked into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Station in Santa Clarita on Dec. 25 and released on Dec. 28 after posting $50,000 bond. Public records show his last known address as being in Bellflower.
The CHP did not disclose Preciado’s current city of residence.
Preciado was in the SUV with another adult and six minors, Burgos-Lopez said. Three of the children were ejected and two of them, 9-year-old Jorge Preciado and 6-year-old Jayden Preciado, died at the scene.
The relationships between the driver and the other occupants of the SUV was not immediately known.
The driver of the Rav4 was stopped in the median and waiting with a family member when the crash occurred, Burgos-Lopez said. Why the SUV was stopped was not known.
Jorge Everardo Preciado was arrested and booked without incident, Burgos-Lopez said.
CHP Captain Bob Purvis, in a statement, called the deaths of the children “heartbreaking.
“This is an important reminder that child safety seats are of utmost importance in providing safety on the roadway,” he said.
It wasn’t known if child safety seats were in the SUV or if all occupants were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
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