Advertisement
California

Drivers in deadly Chatsworth street-racing crash plead no contest

Street racing fatalities
1/6

The Ford Mustang that struck three pedestrians, killing two of them, in Chatsworth is removed.

  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Street racing fatalities
2/6

LAPD investigators survey skid marks at the scene where two pedestrians were killed by an out-of-control Ford Mustang that officials say was street racing in Chatsworth.

  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Street racing fatalities
3/6
Los Angeles police announce a suspect in the Chatsworth fatal street race.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Street racing fatalities
4/6

Two pedestrians were killed by the driver of a Ford Mustang who fled the scene in Chatsworth, police said.

  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Street racing fatalities
5/6

Skid marks crisscross the pavement at the scene where two pedestrians were killed in Chatsworth.

  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Street racing fatalities
6/6

Authorities hold a news conference about the deadly crash that in Chatsworth.

  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Brittny Mejia poses for a portrait
By Brittny Mejia
Staff WriterFollow

Two men pleaded no contest Tuesday to felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for their involvement in a deadly street race that left two dead in Chatsworth in February.

Karen Gary Balyan, 43, had been racing Irael Valenzuela, 39, on Feb. 26, when — within seconds — he lost control of the Ford Mustang he was driving and slammed it into a curb, hitting three people, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

NEWSLETTER: Get essential California headlines delivered daily >>

Two men, Eric Siguenza, 26, and Wilson Thomas Wong, 50, died when the car hit them. A third person was injured but survived. Balyan and Valenzuela both pleaded no contest to two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

Advertisement

Balyan also entered a no contest plea to one misdemeanor count of assault with a deadly weapon. He faces a sentence of 12 years in state prison, and Valenzuela faces 180 days in jail and five years’ formal probation.

Sentencing for the two men is scheduled for Jan. 4.

A third co-defendant, Henry Gevorgyan, 22, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Thursday. Gevorgyan, the owner of the Mustang, surrendered after the incident. Balyan had been driving Gevorgyan’s car during the race.

Follow me on Twitter @brittny_mejia

More to Read

California
Brittny Mejia

Brittny Mejia is a Metro reporter covering federal courts for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she wrote narrative pieces with a strong emphasis on the Latino community and others that make up the diversity of L.A. and California. Mejia was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021 in local reporting for her investigation with colleague Jack Dolan that exposed failures in Los Angeles County’s safety-net healthcare system that resulted in months-long wait times for patients, including some who died before getting appointments with specialists. She joined The Times in 2014.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Most Read in California

Advertisement