A 20-year-old Irvine man is in custody in connection with the alleged street race in Laguna Hills on Monday night that left one man dead and two women in critical condition, Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Arya Asgarynejad, the driver of the 2002 CLK55 Mercedes-Benz, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and operating a vehicle with gross negligence causing death. His 20-year-old male passenger was not arrested, Amormino said.
Investigators suspect the drivers in a 2004 BMW M3 and the Mercedes were racing east on La Paz Road at 8:30 p.m. Monday when Parees Ghassemian, 18, of Laguna Niguel, driving the BMW, lost control and crashed into a water main on the southeast corner of Monte Vista and La Paz Road.Ghassemian died at the scene, and his two female passengers were taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where they remain in critical condition today. The passengers were reportedly 17 and 18 years old, Amormino said.
Once again youth triumphs over driving skills - temporarily, and then the lack of driving skills catches up. This happens way too often in south county, either because of street racing or just because someone's driving too fast for the conditions and their skill level.
I'm always amazed when I hear about some young kid wrecking a high performance car like this. Too many kids have cars that simply overmatch their ability to drive them, and since most 18-year-olds think they're going to live forever, they take chances that a more seasoned driver wouldn't take. And what's particulary disturbing to me is that my family drives by that spot regularly and could have become a victim of these morons if we'd decided to go to Costco or another of our regular stops last night.
Instead, I was sitting in the stands at Mission Viejo High School watching the Monday night marching band rehearsal (it's not that I don't have a life - my kids are in the band) when I saw the fire department exit the freeway and head up La Paz toward the accident scene. I don't envy the guys who have to clean up the carnage after one of these things, and I'm glad that I wasn't part of it.
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