SAN BERNARDINO: Suspected street race triggers fatal wrong-way crash (UPDATE)

May 1, 2015 1:57 am

A 19-year-old San Bernardino motorist died instantly in a head-on collision during what police say they suspect was a street race between that man and his brother.

Mark Anthony Jimenez was killed about about 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, along Highland Avenue west of Macy Street, coroner’s officials said in a written statement.

Jimenez was driving an eastbound 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT that crossed into on-coming traffic and slammed into a 2011 Toyota Corolla driven by 23-year-old Francisca Vargas of Rialto, said police Lt. Rich Lawhead.

investigators estimated that the Mitsubishi was traveling between 60 and 70 mph at the time of impact, Lawhead said.

Vargas and her two passengers were taken to a hospital where they underwent immediate emergency surgery.

“They’re all expected to survive,” Lawhead said of the Corolla’s occupants.

Following the wreck, an older brother of the dead man drove to the scene in a Chevy Impala.

“He was cooperative,” Lawhead said, emphasizing that the man agreed to provide a blood sample that will be examined to determine whether it contains alcohol or drugs. “But he refused to give a statement about what transpired in the collision.”

Based on witness accounts, Lawhead said, police suspect that the two brothers were racing. However, the surviving brother was not arrested.

“We can’t say he was involved in the collision. He has no damage to his vehicle,” Lawhead emphasized. “That (decision) will be up to the district attorney.”