A 46-year-old Los Angeles man was working as an Uber driver and had a passenger in his car when he allegedly ran a red light while speeding over the weekend, striking multiple pedestrians and vehicles and killing a woman in downtown Long Beach, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Khalid Yagobbi, through a defense attorney, pleaded not guilty to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in Long Beach Superior Court.
A prosecutor provided details of the case while a judge considered whether to allow cameras during the hearing.
Yagobbi was accused of speeding eastbound in the westbound lanes of Shoreline Drive and running through a red light at Aquarium Way without slowing down about 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, prosecutors said.
One of the pedestrians, Cuarenta Aguilar, 60, of Long Beach, was killed in the crash and several other pedestrians were hospitalized, police said while announcing Yagobbi’s arrest on suspicion of murder and calling the crash intentional.
However, the vehicular manslaughter charge brings to question whether the DA’s office believes it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crash was intentional.
Police have said there was no indication the crash was an act of terror or associated with the ongoing violence in the Middle East.
Witnesses told police Aguilar was pushing a child in a stroller in a crosswalk when she was hit.
Yagobbi’s bail was lowered to $50,000. He was scheduled to return to court Oct. 24.
