Street Racers Charged With Murder

June 28, 2005 -- -- Fresno, Calif., police are cracking down on street racing after a woman -- the daughter of a local auto racing legend -- was killed last week when her truck was hit by a car that was drag racing.

Street racing, which police said is an epidemic in Fresno, has claimed the lives of nearly 400 people across the country in the last three years, according to federal highway safety experts.

Police say street racing used happen mostly at night, and in relatively isolated places, but now it occurs anywhere and any time two drivers are willing, even in broad daylight.

Diana Pombo-Covell, 39, daughter of Al Pombo, was on her way home from work on June 13 when two drag racers ran a stop sign in southwest Fresno, officers said.

"An innocent victim going home. Probably that didn't know what hit her," California Highway Patrol Officer Axel Reyes said. "Just driving along, a lot of orchards … intersections are somewhat blind. Obviously, didn't expect someone to run a stop sign and probably didn't know what was coming."

Witnesses said Pombo-Covell's truck was hit by a Pontiac Grand Am, which pushed her pickup into the path of an oncoming truck, according to the CHP. The driver of the Grand Am fled, leaving a 15-year-old boy behind in the wreckage of his car.

The other vehicle allegedly involved in the drag race, a Volkswagen Passat, avoided the crash and sped off, police said.

The driver of the Grand Am, identified as Jorge Batalla, 20, was arrested the night after the crash at Madera Community Hospital, where he had been admitted under an alias.

The driver of the Passat, identified as Miguel Angel Silvas, 27, was arrested on June 15 after information was provided by witnesses, police said.

Batalla and Silvas were both arraigned Monday on charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident. They could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted of the second-degree murder charge.

They were both ordered held at Fresno County Jail on $1,046,000 bail, and a preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 11.

Police say the problem of street racing is an especially difficult one, because the races happen so fast that by the time officers can respond to the area, it's deserted.

But the CHP and Fresno police are hoping a $400,000 federal grant will help them combat it, Reyes said.

"Every so often, we go out and do a task force. Basically, we go to known locations where they race and we try to hit them hard," Reyes said. "Even if it's just deterred for one night, we might be saving someone's life."

If they can't track down the races and racers themselves, police still have other ways to go after the culprits, Reyes said.

A team assigned to crack down on illegal racing spent Saturday night writing citations to people who have made illegal upgrades to their vehicles, he said.

"They like to modify their exhaust, try to get as much speed and power out of the vehicles, and a lot of that stuff is illegal," Reyes said.

In the second enforcement crackdown of the summer, officers wrote 50 tickets, mainly for vehicle modifications. They arrested three people for driving under the influence and impounded five cars.

No arrests or citations were issued to anyone racing, however, because officers said they were not able to catch a race in progress.

The enforcement efforts will continue throughout the summer, police said.