MONTEREY PARK >> A man driving a Ferrari died and his passenger was critically injured, while the driver of a Hyundai sedan also suffered major injuries and was suspected of drunken driving following an early-morning crash at a major Monterey Park intersection, authorities said.Fu Duan, 21, of Temple City died in the crash, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Joe Bale said.Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene of the crash, which took shortly after 2 a.m. at Garvey and New avenues.
A passenger in the mangled Ferrari 458 Italia was hospitalized in critical condition, Montebello police Sgt. Brent Archibald said. A description of the passenger was not available.
The driver of a Hyundai Accent that collided with the Ferrari was also hospitalized in critical condition, and suspected of drunken driving.
“We do suspect that alcohol is involved,” Archibald said.
The driver, 28-year-old Omar Placencia of Los Angeles, was expected to be booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, Lt. Eric Kim said.
He was the only person inside the Hyundai.
The cars collided in the intersection as the Ferrari was southbound on New Avenue and the Hyundai was westbound on Garvey Avenue, “The (Hyundai) collided into the driver-side of the Ferrari, fatally injuring the driver,” Archibald said.
Officers had not yet determined which vehicle had the green light, he said. The speed at which the cars were traveling when they crashed was also under investigation.
The Ferrari “appears to be new,” Archibald said, adding that it was not yet fitted with permanent license plates.
The luxury sports cars’ starting price is around $230,000
The front end of the luxury sports car was sheared of in the crash.Coroner’s officials planned to perform an autopsy on Duan and look into whether he had any substances in his system at the time of the crash.
Neighbors living near the crash scene said they’d seen the white Ferrari speeding around the area in recent days.
Erica Olson, 44, said she’s seen the sports car driving at high speeds three times in the previous week.
“It’s just been zooming around,” she said. “It was doing 70 mph on New (Avenue). It was going so fast, I couldn’t tell who was driving it.”
“I pray for the victims,” Olson added.
Neighbor Lee McClure said saw noticed the Ferrari for the first time Friday afternoon as it was speeding along Egley Avenue in front of Arlene Bitely Elementary School. “I haven’t seen it before,” he said.
The intersection remained shut down through 2 p.m. as officials took measurements, collected evidence and examined the scene of the fatal collision.
of the fatal collision.
