A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy charged with murder after killing a 12-year-old boy in a high-speed crash while off duty has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Ricardo Castro, 30, was behind the wheel of his pickup truck on Nov. 3, 2021, when he struck a car making a left turn in front of him at an intersection, killing Isaiah Rodriguez in the passenger seat of that vehicle and injuring the boy’s 19-year-old sister, according to authorities. Castro was off-duty at the time of the crash. Isaiah, who lived in South Gate, died at a Long Beach hospital, and his sister was treated for broken bones.
Last year, Castro was charged with second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter. He entered his plea Thursday in a downtown courtroom; he is expected to receive a six-year state prison sentence when he returns there for sentencing on Sept. 25.
The officer, who was relieved of duty after the crash, will surrender his Peace Officer Standards and Training certificate, effectively ending his law enforcement career, prosecutors said. Had Castro been convicted of the murder charge, he could have received life in prison.
A family member holds a photograph of Isaiah.
(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
In announcing the charges last year, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón called the fatal crash a preventable tragedy.
“Mr. Castro’s recklessness took the life of a young man with a whole future ahead of him and destroyed a family,” Gascón said, standing next to two posters with photos of a smiling Isaiah. The prosecutor said the officer was traveling close to 95 mph in a 25 mph school zone as he approached a busy intersection.
South Gate Police Chief Darren Arakawa said the charges were the result of a 16-month investigation by his department.
The high-speed crash at the intersection of San Juan Avenue and Firestone Boulevard was captured on surveillance video. The footage shows the car being struck, spinning and flying from the impact.
The road is marked for 35 mph, but because it is a school zone, there would have been a 25 mph speed limit at the time of the 4 p.m. crash.
The wreckage of the car 12-year-old Isaiah Rodriguez was riding in when he was struck by a pickup truck driven by an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy in November 2021. Isaiah died at a hospital.
(KTLA-TV Channel 5)
Castro had received “rigorous” training in safe driving as a sheriff’s deputy, but had been involved in multiple collisions and had received several traffic tickets, including some for speeding, Gascón said Wednesday. He added that Castro had also been a passenger in a fatal crash a few months before the collision that killed Isaiah.
Aerial television video from the day of the crash in South Gate showed the vehicle Isaiah was riding in stopped at least 75 feet from the point of impact.
After the crash, a good Samaritan tried to stop Isaiah's bleeding by wrapping her sweater around his head before the brothers were taken to the hospital, according to the family's GoFundMe page. Firefighters used hydraulic “jaws of life” to pull the boy from the wreckage.
According to the GoFundMe page, Isaiah suffered “serious injuries to his head, brain and abdomen.” Despite the efforts of the emergency team at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, Isaiah was pronounced dead around 8:30 that night.
According to the family, the 19-year-old sister was treated at St. Francis Medical Center for a concussion, fractures and lacerations. She was released a few days later.
Betsabe Suarez, the mother of Isaiah Rodriguez, speaks during a news conference in South Gate on Wednesday.
(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
When the charges were announced, Isaiah's mother, Betsabe Suarez, said her son was on his way to buy a new ruler for a girl who had been bullied and had hers taken away. She remembered him as a brave, caring and loving boy.
Three days before he was killed, Isaiah told him he wanted to be baptized so he could be a “new man,” he said. “My son didn’t deserve this,” he said. “He was only 12 years old.”
