A Los Angeles man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a 60-year-old Long Beach woman killed when he allegedly drove into a group of pedestrians.
Khalid Yagobbi—who had been charged earlier this month with a felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence involving the death of Romelia Cuarenta-Aguilar—is set to be arraigned Monday on the more serious count of murder involving that victim, along with other charges stemming from the Oct. 14 crash in Long Beach.
The murder charge includes an allegation that Yagobbi personally used a motor vehicle as a deadly weapon.
The amended complaint, filed Tuesday, also charges Yagobbi with four felony counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon involving four other people.
Yagobbi was released on bond Oct. 19 after his bail was set at $50,000, but he was taken into custody again Tuesday in lieu of $6 million bail as a result of the new charges. He has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
Police said Yagobbi was speeding eastbound in a white Chevrolet Bolt in the westbound lanes of Shoreline Drive when he drove through a red light and struck the pedestrians and multiple, occupied vehicles without slowing down just after 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Shoreline Drive and Aquarium Way.
Yaggobi remained at the scene and was taken to a hospital for treatment before being booked on suspicion of murder, authorities said.
Cuarenta-Aguilar was pronounced dead at the scene.
During a court hearing last week, a prosecutor said Yagobbi was an Uber driver and had a passenger in his car when the crash occurred.
Witnesses said the car struck Cuarenta-Aguilar as she pushed a child in a stroller in the crosswalk, and then slammed into multiple vehicles in the opposite lane.
Several other pedestrians were injured and hospitalized, although they were said to be in stable condition.
“At this time, there is no indication that this incident was an act of terror nor associated with the current violence in Israel; however, the investigation is ongoing,” the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement shortly after the crash.
In a subsequent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Long Beach police said, “While motive remains under investigation, at this time, there is no indication the incident is connected to terrorism nor the current violence in the Middle East.”
