Suspect charged w/murder in deadly 5 Fwy street-racing crash in Commerce

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Whittier man suspected of street racing and causing a deadly multi-vehicle crash on the 5 Freeway was charged with second-degree murder, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

Dealio Lockhart, 35, will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Prosecutors will ask for his bail to be set at $3.2 million. He was charged with three counts of second-degree murder and four counts of reckless driving on a highway, causing specified injury.

Lockhart is suspected of street racing with a suspect in a Dodge Charger shortly after midnight Saturday in Commerce. One of the cars lost control, causing a UPS delivery truck to go airborne and land over the center median.

The UPS truck then sheared off the top of a Nissan car, causing it to burst into flames. The chain-reaction crash killed two people in the Nissan, Michelle Littlefield, 19, and Brian Lewandowski, 18. The UPS driver, Scott Treadway, 35, was also killed. Four other people were seriously injured.

Authorities said Lockhart, who was driving a Dodge Challenger, was arrested at the scene. The second suspect in the Dodge Charger fled and remains at large.

The freeway was shut down for nearly an entire day in both directions between Washington Boulevard and the 710 Freeway as crews cleaned up the scene and detectives investigated.

If convicted, Lockhart faces up to life in state prison.

The case remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.