Driver Booked After Auto Crash Kills 3

A 41-year-old Whittier man who reportedly told his wife, “I am going to end it all,” has been booked on suspicion of murder after he allegedly drove his vehicle deliberately into oncoming traffic. The resulting crash killed three people and seriously injured the driver and two others.

Authorities said Ralph Ambriz had been arguing with his wife and two children while driving east on Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs late Saturday night. His wife told paramedics that he deliberately swerved the car into the westbound lane, striking an oncoming vehicle driven by a Santa Fe Springs woman.

The head-on collision near Freeman Avenue instantly killed Grace Ambriz, the motorist’s 15-year-old daughter, as well as the driver and passenger of the oncoming car, Pamela Williams, 36, and her mother, Mary, 64.

Mario Ambriz, the motorist’s 16-year-old son, was seriously injured in the crash and was listed in guarded condition at Norwalk Community Hospital Sunday. Mary Lou Ambriz, 38, the suspect’s wife, was listed in stable condition at the Medical Center of La Mirada, Hogan said.

Ambriz was booked at County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.