Crime & Safety

Teen Driver to Be Tried for Manslaughter in Peninsula Crash

Denis Alberto Reyes of Long Beach also faces a felony count for being at the wheel of a stolen vehicle in the collision that killed four.

The survivor in the street-racing crash that claimed four lives on the Peninsula last year has been ordered to trial on four felony counts of manslaughter. Denis Alberto Reyes of Long Beach, who was 17 at the time of the Aug. 22 collision and turned 18 in November, will be tried as adult.  

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani also ruled Wednesday that Reyes be tried on one felony count of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle, according to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Cops. 

Reyes allegedly drove a stolen 1997 Ford Taurus while racing the teenage driver of a black 2003 Ford Mustang on eastbound Ocean Boulevard; the cars collided, causing the Mustang to spin out of control and strike the concrete sign in the median at 55th Place which marks the Peninsula neighborhood. Reyes was arrested later after allegedly fleeing the scene.

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The four people in the Mustang died: its driver, Jesus Heredia Calixto, 18, and passengers Delysa Castro, 16, Javier Marquez, 19, and Candice Ann Bustamante, 32, all of Long Beach.

Reyes is scheduled to be arraigned April 6 at the Long Beach courthouse. 

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City News Service contributed to this report.


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