1 Innocent Driver Dead, 7 Cars Damaged In Riverside Street Race

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — The CHP in Riverside says one man is dead and seven cars are damaged after an illegal street race Wednesday afternoon.

Just after 4:30 p.m. witnesses said two cars were weaving in and out of traffic at high speed on Alessandro Avenue just west of Meridian Parkway.

KCAL9's Stacey Butler who spoke to one woman by phone who said she was scared for her safety as well as that of her daughter, her passenger.  She said the cars were going about 90 mph. She said she was able to gun it and pull off the road to avoid the collision.

"Oh, my God. I was going 45, they had to be doing 80-90." the witness said. "Maybe even more. I really thought they were going to hit me."

Officials said Anthony Lopez, 38, of Moreno Valley was driving a silver BMW when he lost control of his vehicle driving at a high rate of speed.  The CHP said he collided with a Nissan driven by a 62-year-old man.

This collision set off a chain collision involving five other vehicles.

The driver of the Nissan was killed. The driver of the car racing Lopez fled, officials said. A witness said she took down his license plate.

Butler reported the driver of the BMW was determined to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and arrested for felony DUI.

Other drivers and passengers reported minor or no injuries, the CHP said.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the CHP's Riverside Avenue Office Accident Investigation Unit at (951) 637-8000.