A 33-year-old motorist was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving for allegedly triggering a crash on the Chino Valley (71) Freeway in Pomona that killed a man and injured four people, authorities said Monday.
The suspect was identified as Mark Shoemate of Aliso Viejo, the Pomona Police Department reported.
Officers dispatched about 10 p.m. Sunday to the southbound freeway, north of Rio Rancho Road, located a flatbed tow truck that had been struck by another vehicle.
``They discovered that a flatbed tow truck traveling northbound on SR- 17 had been struck by another vehicle, causing the tow truck to jump the center divider into oncoming southbound traffic," according to a police statement.
The tow truck collided with a family in a minivan going southbound. A man inside the minivan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Firefighters were sent to the southbound Chino Valley Freeway at Rio Rancho Road, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher.
He confirmed four people were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries.
Shoemate, the motorist behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck the tow truck, was contacted by officers at the scene and arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and vehicular manslaughter.
The Pomona Police Department urged anyone with any information regarding the crash to call them at 909-802-7741 or 909-620-2048.
Police shut down the Chino Valley Freeway between Mission Boulevard and Rio Rancho Road to investigate the crash and clear the wreckage.
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