A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that a man was fleeing in a stolen van from police when the vehicle struck an SUV in Long Beach, killing a local dog walker and five of the six canines she was transporting.
Defendant Javier Olivarez Jr.’s attorney, Efren Navar, countered that “the evidence will show that Mr. Olivarez had no intention of killing this women” or the pets in her care.
Olivarez, 47, of Los Angeles, is charged with murder in connection with the May 7, 2019, death of Jessica Bingaman, along with six counts of cruelty to an animal and one count each of evading a peace officer causing death and driving or taking a stolen vehicle.
Bingaman, a 41-year-old single mother from Long Beach who operated a local dog-walking and dog training business, died from blunt torso trauma that day at a local hospital.
Four of the dogs in the vehicle with her—Indy, Toots, Scout and Maggie Moo—died at the scene, with a fifth, Sasha, dying after being rushed to a local pet hospital. The sixth dog, Bella, was seriously injured, but survived, Deputy District Attorney Karen Brako told the Long Beach jury.
A Long Beach police officer began pursuing the white 2016 Nissan van, which had been reported stolen from a Long Beach van rental business, in a chase that lasted no more than three minutes and reached speeds of up to 71 mph before the deadly collision at the intersection of Third Street and Temple Avenue, according to the prosecutor. The speed limit in that area was 25 mph, Brako said.
Police said shortly after the crash that the woman was driving northbound in a black 2013 Ford Escape on Temple Avenue after stopping at a stop sign on Third Street when she was struck by the van, which was heading eastbound on Third Street and failed to stop at a marked stop sign at the intersection.
The impact of the crash forced the driver’s seat of Bingaman’s vehicle into its passenger side and one of the vehicle’s tires launched into a cinder block wall, with four other vehicles parked along the street also being struck, Brako told jurors.
The prosecutor said data from the van’s black box showed that the stolen van was traveling at 71 mph just five seconds before the crash and then at 68 mph one second before the collision, and showed that Olivarez “never attempted to stop” in the last 2 1/2 seconds before impact.
A blood test subsequently performed on Olivarez confirmed the presence of methamphetamine and amphetamine in his blood, Brako said, telling jurors that she was confident that jurors would find the defendant guilty of all of the charges.
Olivarez’s attorney noted that he will be asking jurors to acquit his client of the murder charge, saying that he will also address the other counts against Olivarez when jurors hear closing arguments.
Navar told jurors that what happened was a “tragic accident” that led to the deaths of the woman and five of the dogs in her care, noting that a lot of the evidence in the case will be undisputed, but that the panel will have to determine whether what happened was a murder.
The defense lawyer urged jurors not to make up their minds too early during the trial.
Teri Lyn Miller, who lives near the scene of the collision, testified that she heard sirens and then saw a “white blur” that went by “so fast” before hearing the crash.
“It was just horrific, very loud, the metal, the impact, very loud,” she said. “I said, ‘I can’t imagine, you know, anybody surviving what I heard. It was so horrific.”’
Two other people who were near the scene of the crash, including one who described hearing what she said sounded like an explosion,’ said they didn’t remember hearing sirens before the collision.
Olivarez—who was arrested the day of the crash—has remained behind bars since then.
He was initially charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence involving Bingaman’s death, with the murder charge subsequently replacing that count.
Bingaman, who was survived by her then-10-year-old daughter, was a familiar sight in the community, where she walked canines—sometimes about a half-dozen at a time—for clients. More than 100 people turned out for a candlelight vigil in her honor the day after she was killed.
