A Los Angeles sheriff's deputy who allegedly killed a 12-year-old boy and injured two others when he collided into their vehicle in 2021 while traveling at high speeds has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday.
Deputy Ricardo Castro is charged with one count of murder, one count of manslaughter, and one count of reckless driving with enhancements for grave bodily injury, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced during a press conference Wednesday.
The first three counts are for the death of Isaiah Rodriguez. The enhancements are for the two surviving victims of the crash - Rodriguez's older sister and Castro's passenger, Fox Los Angeles reported.
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"This was a preventable incident clearly in the hands of Mr. Castro," South Gate Police Chief Darren Arakawa said. "Isaiah was an innocent child. He didn't stand a chance in that crash."
Rodriguez was riding in a vehicle in the suburb of South Gate on Nov. 3, 2021 when another vehicle being driven by Castro collided into his at the intersection of Firestone Boulevard and San Juan Avenue just before 4 p.m. Authorities estimated that Castro, who was off-duty at the time, was driving at speeds of around 95 mph when he hit the Mercedes carrying Rodriguez and his sister Alexa.
People from a nearby car wash rescued the victims from both vehicles. All were rushed to a hospital where Rodriguez died.
The boy and his sister were headed to a store to purchase a ruler for a classmate who was being bullied, his mother said.
"My son didn't deserve this he was only 12. I had to have his birthday without him… holidays without him… I'm never going to see him graduate… go to college… get married… and there's no words that could describe the full essence of who he was, and nothing could ever replace him," she said.
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Gascon said Castro's driving records revealed he was involved in multiple collisions and received several traffic tickets for speeding. He was also involved in a fatal collision three months prior to the deadly collision involving Rodriguez.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the sheriff's department.
