Man to be arraigned on a murder charge in 210 Freeway death in Sylmar
A North Hollywood man is scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge Monday morning in the death of a woman who was struck and killed by cars on the 210 Freeway in Sylmar.
Ricardo “Rick” Jimenez, 26, is accused of stabbing Maria Josefina “Josie” Jimenez, 22, of Westlake, before she fell or jumped from a vehicle onto the freeway, where she was fatally hit by other drivers.
Witnesses described Ricardo Jimenez’s red Toyota as swerving erratically on the 210 Freeway in Sylmar Aug. 29 when it cut left across the lanes toward the shoulder, then veered hard right before correcting itself. That’s when the passenger door opened and Maria Jimenez, who is not related to Ricardo, ended up on the freeway, where she was hit by two other cars before her body came to rest in the fast lane.
Police said the driver of the Toyota never stopped.
Jimenez turned himself in two days later.
Detectives believe Ricardo Jimenez stabbed his girlfriend before she fell from the Toyota. Investigators said they found blood on the passenger side of the vehicle.
The alleged attack occurred after the two had argued at a tattoo parlor sometime before midnight and he verbally abused her in front of witnesses, Lt. Paul Vernon of the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Jimenez is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
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Twitter: @josephserna
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