California Dremin'… 2 charged with murder in car-to-car shooting on 57 Freeway in Diamond Bar
By Andrea Klick | aklick@scng.com
UPDATED: August 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM PDT
Two men were charged with murder recently after a car-to-car shooting on the 57 Freeway in Diamond Bar two years ago killed one man and seriously injured another person.
Richard Pedroza, 28, of Alhambra and Daniel Rios, 26, of La Habra were charged with one count each of murder with special circumstances and two counts each of attempted murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. The men were also charged with firearm possession by a felon, with Pedroza facing one count and Rios facing two counts.
“Innocent people simply traveling the freeway, just trying to get to their destination, could easily have been caught in the crossfire and killed,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “My office will hold these defendants accountable for their cruelty and ensure that justice is delivered to the victims and their families.”
Prosecutors allege that Pedroza and Rios opened fire at another car on the southbound 57 Freeway north of Pathfinder Road around midnight on Aug. 1, 2023. In addition to the two victims, prosecutors said shots were fired at another person who wasn’t struck.
Pedroza and Rios were arrested last week, on Aug. 19, by U.S. Marshals. They are being held without bail.
Pedroza and Rios’ arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 12.
If convicted of all charges, they could face life in prison.
OC Register, 8/25/25 (behind paywall); see also https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/correction-two-men-charged-murder-man-and-attempted-murder-another-diamond-bar-freeway (“If you think you can turn our freeways into shooting galleries and terrorize our communities with callous violence, think again,” District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.)
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< Moar:
Two Antioch residents who died in separate car crashes on East Bay highways last week have been identified by authorities.
The more recent of the two wrecks happened about 4:30 a.m. Friday on state Highway 242 near the Grant Street exit in Concord. The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office publicly identified that driver as 42-year-old Alexander Ubaldo. He died at the scene.
According to the CHP, Ubaldo was on a motorcycle that ended up losing control and wobbling before being hit by another vehicle.
A day earlier, a head-on crash on westbound Highway 4 in Discovery Bay killed 30-year-old Muafak Abukarsh.
According to the CHP, Abukarsh drove a Toyota Camry over the double-yellow divider lines and ran straight into a GMC Sierra. He died at the scene. The Sierra driver was hospitalized with major injuries.
The wrecks were two of four fatal crashes that happened last week on East Bay highways. A fiery wrong-way head-on crash on Interstate 580 near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on Aug. 12 killed 29-year-old Petaluma resident Alejandro Cruzrenderos. About seven hours later, 20-year-old Concord resident Frank Cazares Jr. died in a one-car crash after losing control at the Monument Boulevard exit on Interstate 680 in Pleasant Hill.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/18/east-bay-fatal-highway-crashes-residents-who-died-identified/
<Moar:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/25/4-dead-in-fiery-wrong-way-crash-on-15-freeway-in-temecula/ (4 dead, man who caused it survived, no identification of individuals involved)
<Moar:
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San Jose woman killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 17 near Los Gatos
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4 dead in fiery, wrong-way crash on California freeway
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An Antioch man attempted suicide by car crash. Instead he killed a woman and survived, police say
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East Bay drunk driver got 13 years for killing 6-year-old boy
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14-year-old killed in Bay Area crash, driver arrested
links in: https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/18/east-bay-fatal-highway-crashes-residents-who-died-identified/