Driver accused of ramming into LA crowd charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
The man accused of plowing a car into a crowd outside a popular Los Angeles nightclub and injuring dozens of people was charged with 74 felony counts in connection with the crash, prosecutors announced on July 22.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman accused Fernando Ramirez, 29, of San Clemente, California, of intentionally driving his vehicle into a crowd of people gathering outside the Vermont Hollywood nightclub in East Hollywood on July 19. The district attorney said Ramirez faces 37 counts of attempted murder and 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
"When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians that were in front of him on the sidewalk at 2 a.m.," Hochman said at a news conference. "Many of them were at the taco truck, or they were waiting at valet, or they were waiting to get into the club."
The chaotic scene unfolded at about 2 a.m. local time as the venue began to close for the night. Ramirez had been kicked out of the venue before returning minutes later and ramming his vehicle into the crowd along the busy street, injuring 37 people, according to police and prosecutors.
Injuries ranged from "minor abrasions to serious fractures and lacerations to broken bones," and several victims were briefly trapped beneath the car, authorities said. Hochman alleged that Ramirez inflicted "great bodily injury" on eight victims.
The car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, according to police. After the crash, police said bystanders pulled Ramirez out of the vehicle and attacked him.
He was later taken into custody and is being held without bail, according to Hochman. He was scheduled to be arraigned on July 23.
Ramirez faces multiple sentences of life in state prison if he is convicted on all counts, Hochman said.
Driver shot by an unidentified man following car crash
During the altercation, police said an unidentified man approached the scene from across the street and shot Ramirez once in the lower back. The man then fled from the scene and remains at large as of July 22, according to police.
On July 21, investigators asked for the public's help in identifying the man suspected of shooting Ramirez. The shooting suspect was described by police as a Hispanic male, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing between 150 and 170 pounds, and has a bald head.
Newly released surveillance photos from cameras near the venue showed the suspect wearing a blue Dodgers jacket, a light blue jersey with the number “5,” and blue jeans. He also had gauges in both ears, a goatee, and is possibly armed with a silver revolver, police said.
"We understand the emotions involved, but when the threat had ended and the suspect was no longer actively harming others, the use of deadly force was both unlawful and dangerous to everybody present," Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said at the July 22 news conference.
McDonnell noted that the suspected shooter is considered armed and dangerous and has urged the public to contact authorities with any potential information on the suspect.
Driver has 'extensive history of violence'
McDonnell said Ramirez has "an extensive history of violence." According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Ramirez has an additional pending case in Orange County for domestic violence.
"He's been charged as well, being out on bail for the 2022 domestic violence case that he had in Orange County," Hochman said. "With respect to the details on how he's actually out on bail and ended up in Los Angeles, that evidence will actually be adduced at trial."
ABC7 News reported that Ramirez had been involved in several violent crimes in Orange County. He was previously convicted of battery and a hate crime after assaulting a Black employee at a Whole Foods store in Laguna Beach, the television station reported.
He was also convicted of resisting arrest, corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and assault likely to cause great bodily injury, according to the television station.
Contributing: John Bacon and Jeanine Santucci