Pacoima Man Pleads Not Guilty In Deadly Monrovia Freeway Crash

PASADENA, CA — A San Fernando Valley man pleaded not guilty today to a felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in connection with a multi-vehicle crash on the eastbound Foothill (210) Freeway in Monrovia that left a 95-year-old woman dead and another woman critically injured.

Humberto Gonzalez, 49, of Pacoima, was charged Friday and is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. He was ordered to return to court July 19, when a date is expected to be set for a preliminary hearing.

The crash occurred about 3 p.m. last Wednesday at West Huntington Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol.

“Drugs and/or alcohol do appear to be a factor,” the CHP said in a statement.

Imogene Haley, 95, of Temple City, died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office. Haley was riding in a 2008 Lexus ES350 being driven by a 74-year-old woman who remains hospitalized with major injuries, according to the CHP.

An earlier CHP accident report reflected two fatalities. A CHP spokesman said Monday that the hospital had initially offered conflicting information about the status of the second woman, who remains “in really bad shape.”

Gonzalez — who suffered minor injuries in the crash -- was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup in the carpool lane behind the Lexus, which was behind several other vehicles, the CHP reported. When the Lexus slowed down because of slower traffic, the pickup rear-ended it, leading to a chain-reaction crash involving three other vehicles. No one in those vehicles was injured.

The eastbound freeway was closed for about two hours while an investigation was conducted into the circumstances of the crash.