A 55-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence after he allegedly recklessly reversed his SUV onto the porch of a Long Beach apartment complex, killing a toddler and injuring a girl and woman, authorities said.
Lamont Ivan Russell, a Long Beach resident, stayed on scene after the crash. He was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery, police said.
He was being held in jail on a $335,000 bail amount.
Russell was driving in the 400 block of Maine Avenue just before 11:30 a.m. Monday when he made a “turning movement” and reversed at a high rate of speed off the street and onto the sidewalk, hitting the two girls and the woman, police said.
The toddler, identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as 1-year-old Myrah Hunter, was rushed by officers to a hospital, but she died.
A 45-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl were taken by paramedics to another hospital, police said.
Police said speed, distraction and impaired driving appeared to have contributed to the crash.