Don’t live your life a quarter mile at a time on public roads…
21-year-old USC student Arian Rahbar was crossing a public road in Los Angeles on December 13 at about 3 pm when he was mowed down by a speeding Dodge Challenger Hellcat driven by 24-year-old Ricardo Aguilar. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Aguilar was engaged in a street race versus 21-year-old Carlos Valdez Moscoso, who was behind the wheel of an Infiniti G37. Rahbar was thrown into the air and died of his injuries, while the two drivers were arrested and booked for murder.
See a hilarious redneck Fast and Furious parody here.
Police are still trying to determine just how fast both cars were traveling, but have stated they were well beyond the posted speed limit. They also revealed that both Aguilar and Moscoso are members of local car clubs they claim promote street racing. In addition, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Ryan Moreno told NBC Los Angeles both cars were modified for street racing. Exactly what that means we’re unsure since many modifications could be considered “for street racing” by non-gearheads.
Sadly, this could help justify further crackdowns on car meets and other car club activities in California as well as vehicle modifications. The state has been tightening regulations on exhaust noise levels, aftermarket ECU tuning, and other tweaks many enthusiasts enjoy. There’s talk about how Los Angeles has 22 percent more traffic fatalities through November 20 of this year versus last year, and guess which group will be a popular scapegoat?
Rahbar was a straight-A computer science student who had just landed an internship with Facebook. He was in a marked crosswalk, but even though he was legally protected, that didn’t mean he was physically protected from harm. We don’t advise anyone to engage in street races, especially in crowded cities, and this is why.
In a move which is even more shocking than the fatal collision, Aguilar is being held on $2 million bail instead of being let out with no bail the next day. Apparently, some laws are still being enforced in Los Angeles County, even if robberies and burglaries are now ok.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, CBSN Los Angeles
Images via YouTube
