by Veronica L. McClendon
Staff Writer
A suspected drunken driver chased four University of La Verne students Saturday at about 1:30 a.m. and is currently in custody. The students were chased by the man for no known reason. It is believed it may have been a case of mistaken identity.
Seniors Makayla Benjamin, Donna Besson, Julissa Romero and Shannon McCrea were returning from the Safari Bar in West Covina. Driving to Denny’s in Pomona, they exited the 10 freeway at Fairplex Drive. Benjamin, who was driving Romero’s car, missed the turn and pulled to the side of the road to make a U-turn. At that time, three cars came out of the Flamingo Hills restaurant driveway, including a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck.
According to Benjamin, after making the turn, the truck, which was sitting in the center divider, cornered them. The driver, identified as Miguel Ledo, got out of the truck, screaming and shaking his hand violently at them.
They said they became paranoid, trying to figure out what they had done wrong, so they locked their doors and rolled up their windows. However, with the windows up, they could not hear what he was saying.
Benjamin put the car into reverse for approximately 30 yards, because he was chasing them on foot, and made another U-turn.
After the second U-turn, Benjamin said she hit the accelerator, advancing to 75-80 miles per hour, running a red light at Via Verde. Swerving and constantly honking the horn, Benjamin attempted to let the other drivers know something was wrong.
“We were going 75-80 miles per hour through red lights. God blessed us and set a path to safety,” said Benjamin.
After being chased down Fairplex Drive, Ledo caught up to them, sideswiping Romero’s car and forced it onto the curb, knocking the wheel alignment out of place.
Ledo, who later was found to be drunk by the La Verne Police Department, lost control of his truck, going across the center divider and crashing into a fence at Brackett Airport.
For the rest of the chase, Benjamin was constantly hitting the curb. The chase ended when the truck hit a car similar to Romero’s blue 1995 Toyota Corolla. Ledo also uprooted three trees on E Street.
Benjamin pulled in front of the La Verne Police Department. The women ran up to the door and banged on it until Officer Brian Ongley opened the door.
Besson was the only passenger injured. She was treated for tissue strain in her back and released. She is seeking legal advice.
“I am a bit edgy, a bit more cautious of my surroundings while driving or being driven down the street,” said Besson.
Benjamin said she, “feels really jittery and I’m still on edge. Every time a car gets close to me, I get frightened.”
“I’m glad that everyone is OK. I can think back and see how horrible everything was,” said McCrea.
“I am still traumatized, I saw a van driving down the street and I thought that it was going to run into Baker’s Square and I just freaked out,” said Romero, a few days after the incident.
Romero said her car is fully covered by insurance and has found that Ledo also has insurance.
“My car has no major damage on the outside, but I don’t know about the inside. The car was making a horrible sound-that is how the police knew we were coming,” said Romero.
Benjamin, Besson and Romero plan to seek counseling here at ULV. McCrea said that she will go with them for moral support.
“If we didn’t all have our seat belts on, a lot more damage could have taken place,” said Benjamin.
McCrea said, when she “drove home on Saturday, the doors were locked, and it was definitely more important to me my passengers wear their seat belts in my car.”
The women spoke highly of the service they received from LVPD.
“They were so cooperative while we were out of control speaking at the same time; we were still emotionally hurt,” said Benjamin.
Romero said, “La Verne police were great, even though the people [students] always talk about them being in the donut shop they were at the crime scene with a quickness.”
Ongley said Ledo was arrested for driving under the influence and assault with a deadly weapon.
Besson wanted to have him charged with attempted murder, but was told by an officer that not enough damage was done to them or the car for such a severe charge.
“As far as I’m concerned, he was trying to kill us, not scare us or intimidate us, but kill us,” said Besson.
Ongley said this case should go to the district attorney.
“The car ran the stop sign right in front of me,” said Ongley. According to him, their car was making a loud noise. After that, some women got out of the car and ran to the police station.
He arrived seconds after them to see what was going on. “They were all hysterical, talking at the same time. All I understood was ‘car accident,'” said Ongley.
At the present time, Ledo is still in custody.
Ongley said that Ledo apparently got into an argument with his wife at the Flamingo Hills restaurant, located on Fairplex Drive. When she left, he followed, looking for her, but finding the ULV women instead.
When the police arrested the offender, he spoke of his wife. Benjamin said one of the officers asked the women if one of them was married to him because he kept repeating, “my wife, my wife.”
“The moral of the story is if you are going to drink, have a designated driver. Don’t be an idiot,” said Romero, reflecting on the incident.
The women all said many “what ifs” remain in their minds. “What if he had a gun? What if we would have hit a car while he was chasing us?”
Several good Samaritans, all men who happened see Ledo hit the other car on E Street, chased him as he kept driving.
Benjamin said, “Alcohol cannot make a person act this way. He had to be on some type of drug.”
