A man was arrested for his alleged involvement in a 2023 crash that killed an 8-year-old boy and left four others hospitalized in Riverside.
On Friday, Andres Laris, 23, was taken into custody on murder charges, the Riverside Police Department announced.
The deadly, high-speed crash happened on May 16, 2023, at around 7:30 a.m.
Laris was driving westbound near Arlington and Stover Avenues when he lost control of his Honda sedan and veered into the opposite lanes at triple-digit speeds, police said.
He crashed head-on into a Nissan sedan that was carrying four people inside — a 25-year-old female driver and her three younger siblings, identified only as a 16-year-old boy, a 10-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.
The 8-year-old boy was killed in the crash. The female driver suffered serious injuries and her two surviving siblings suffered critical injuries.
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The suspect’s white Honda was totaled after colliding head-on with another vehicle in a deadly Riverside crash on May 16, 2023. (Riverside Police Department) -
The suspect, Andres Laris, 23, from Riverside, is seen in a booking photo from the Riverside Police Department. -
Four victims were inside the gray Nissan sedan when the suspect crashed head-on into them. The impact killed an 8-year-old boy and left three others seriously injured in Riverside on May 16, 2023. (Riverside Police Department) -
The suspect’s white Honda was totaled after colliding head-on with another vehicle in a deadly Riverside crash on May 16, 2023. (Riverside Police Department) -
Home security video obtained by KTLA shows the suspect driver of the Honda apparently lose control and veer into the path of the Nissan on May 16, 2023 in Riverside. (Isabel Cisneros)
Police believe the female driver was likely taking her three siblings to school that morning.
Investigators said Laris was traveling at over 100 miles per hour when he collided with the victims. A toxicology report detected cannabis in his blood system as well, authorities said.
The suspect was also hospitalized in serious condition. Before the deadly crash, Laris had received two prior speeding citations.
“The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office approved one felony count of murder for
causing the death of the 8-year-old victim, along with 3 felony counts of driving across
a divided highway resulting in great bodily injury to the surviving siblings,” authorities said.
Laris is being held on $1 million bail.
Residents in the area previously told KTLA that excessive speeding was an ongoing problem on that particular stretch of Arlington Avenue. Many locals were demanding more safety improvements including a greater number of traffic signals.
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Traffic Detective G. Anderson at GAnders@RiversideCA.gov.