Tow Truck Driver Denies Manslaughter Guilt in Boy’s Death

A tow truck driver who allegedly crushed a 13-year-old boy to death in a traffic collision while racing a competitor to a towing job pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of gross vehicular manslaughter Wednesday.

Detectives had hoped to present a murder case against Heriberto Contreras, 21, of Los Angeles, contending that his erratic driving and extensive history of moving violations showed a “conscious disregard” for the safety of others.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregson Somes, who filed the case in Los Angeles Municipal Court, said there was no evidence that Contreras intended to harm anyone, or that he did not care whether or not someone might get hurt.

Somes said the truck driven by Contreras left about 200 feet of skid marks at the scene of the collision Sunday near Denker Avenue and 54th Street, indicating he was aware he had lost control and was trying to remedy it.

“We’d essentially have to show implied malice and the evidence for that just wasn’t there,” Somes said. “We had to file what we could prove.”

Contreras, who is to return to court Feb. 26 for a preliminary hearing, is accused of slamming his tow truck at 60 to 80 m.p.h. into a 1989 Oldsmobile stopped for a red light at the Southwest Los Angeles intersection.

The impact crushed to death Jerry Williams, a seventh-grader who was in the back seat. It also injured the boy’s 9-year-old sister, La Lisa Steward, and the driver of the car, Nadine Lashley, 71, a neighbor, who was taking the children home from church.

Department of Motor Vehicles records show that Contreras was driving on a suspended license and that he had been convicted of 33 Vehicle Code infractions since June, 1988.

Contreras, who remains in custody in lieu of $25,000 bail, could be sentenced to a maximum state prison term of six years if found guilty.