Suspect in Fatal Crash Was Passenger; Charges Dropped

A seriously injured Palmdale man, arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter after a car collision with a train left another man dead, has been cleared because investigators discovered he was a passenger in the car, not the driver, authorities said Friday.

Eric Larson, 21, is no longer suspected of causing the death Wednesday of Joey Moore, 21, who was identified by a witness Friday morning as the driver of the car, said Deputy David Davidson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Larson remains in serious condition at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center, where deputies had considered him under arrest because he indicated to paramedics at the scene that he had been driving.

“No charges will be filed,” Davidson said. “He was in fact a passenger.”

The matter was clarified after Tyler Foster, 21, came forward Friday and told deputies that he was a passenger in the Chevrolet Camaro driven by Moore until moments before the crash. The car drove around crossing arms onto the tracks at Avenue R in Palmdale and was hit by a Southern Pacific freight train.

Foster did not see the crash, Davidson said. But Foster said he, Larson and Moore had been drinking at a Palmdale bar, and Moore and Larson had dropped him off at his truck about a quarter of a mile from the railroad crossing just before the accident, Davidson said.

Foster said Moore drank at least two 20-ounce schooners of beer and was driving erratically, according to Davidson, while Larson was in the front passenger seat.

The impact threw both men from the car, killing Moore instantly and leaving Larson critically injured and in shock. His responses to questions by paramedics at the scene indicated that he had been driving, Davidson said, and his injuries could have been caused by impact with the steering wheel.

But Davidson said questions arose about who was driving because the car was registered to Moore’s father. Foster contacted deputies when he saw news accounts that Larson was considered a manslaughter suspect.