Cindi Enamorado was looking forward to seeing her brother, Raymond Stephen Olivares on Feb 20, 2023. Instead she got a call that Monday morning that her little brother and his fiance, Maria Rivas-Cruz, were struck by a car fleeing from an illegal street takeover, which typically involves blocking intersections and showing off stunts such as drifting and donuts, while spectators surround them and watch.
Enamorado left running, leaving everything behind. Her boss ran after her to ask what was wrong, “I was a mess and I was crying. I didn’t know what was going on,” she said.
Raymond Olivares Cal State Los Angeles grad picture from 2019. (Photo courtesy of Cindi Enamorado.)
As soon as she got home, she made calls to the coroner and forensics office, to demand answers because she didn’t know where her brother was. Enamorado kept asking if a couple had come into the hospital that night, but they kept telling her that no couple came in. “The reason they told us that no couple had come in was because the coroner had picked him up at the scene,” said Enamorado.
Enamorado later found out that on Feb. 19, 2023, Olivares and Rivas-Cruz walked their friends to their car. As they crossed the street back home, they were hit by a vehicle. Police said the driver, Alan Guillen Herrera, who was 21 at the time of the crash, was fleeing from a street takeover that had started in Compton.
Herrera and the passenger that was with him, Angeles Aguilar were in Compton on a Sunday night partaking in a takeover. Once police arrived Herrera fled the scene, speeding over 70 mph through residential areas and took the life of Olivares and left Rivas-Cruz with severe injuries.
From 2020-2022, LAPD data shows that takeovers tend to happen more in predominantly low-income neighborhoods such as Avalon Boulevard, where Olivares’ crash occurred.
Enamorado recently received the full crash report earlier this month in April and as she read it, the details of the report made her heart feel heavy. She said the details need to be shared and highlighted.
“Raymond’s body lands on the windshield, falls under and gets dragged, pinned from the waist down. Then another vehicle comes from the opposite direction, hits him on his upper torso and he gets split in half.”
Enamorado and her family feel that the consequences for the reckless behavior is just a slap in the face.
“Alan was sentenced to only 5 years and is eligible for parole in August of 2025, only fulfilling 2 ½ years of the sentence while my family was given a life sentence,” said Enamorado. Herrera, who struck Olivares and his fiance, was charged with vehicular manslaughter.
“It kind of saddens me that he [Olivares] has become the face of something, he is completely opposite of,” said Enamorado.
Even though there are penalties for participating in illegal street takeover, law enforcement and the communities say stricter laws and resources need to be put in place.
Taking action on takeovers
The pain of losing her brother prompted Enamorado to go to a County Board of Supervisors town hall meeting with family and loved ones, six months after Olivares’ death to share her story with the Board of Supervisors.
She went to the podium in the Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles and she stated that she said “you guys have been having issues with street racing and street takeovers,” she said, “ and you guys know that Avalon is historically known for having a huge rate of collision and pedestrian fatalities, Yet nothing is being done.”
Maria Rivas-Cruz, was injured due to a driver fleeing an illegal street takeover, injuring her and killing her fiance, with the vehicle. Rivas-Cruz speaks at LA County town hall meeting on September 12, 2023.
Cindi Enamorado also speaks at the LA County town hall meeting with Rivas-Cruz to advocate for her brother on September 12, 2023
A representative of Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, connected Enamorado with the founder of ‘Street Racing Kills’, Lili Trujillo. She became involved with the organization as well as with SAFE, which is a non-profit organization that aims to improve roadway safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“I decided to join them because my brother had a voice and unfortunately, someone took it from him and I know that what I decided to do was something he would have done if I was the one that was in his shoes,” said Enamorado.
She hopes that highlighting Olivares’ story will inspire politicians to address the problem.
According to California Highway Patrol Southern Division, from 2019 to 2023 they have made around 1,200 arrests on those who participated in any illegal street racing and takeovers. So far this year, they have made 435 arrests.
Officer Craig Martin from the CHP Street Racing Enforcement Unit (SREU) said that the court normally offers or requires attendance for first offense to take a course with ‘Street Racing Kills’, as a condition of a plea agreement.
Street Racing Kills
Trujillo founded ‘Street Racing Kills’ after her daughter, Valentina D’Allessandro was killed in a street-racing crash in 2013. “I created this program to create awareness regarding the dangers of illegal street racing and reckless driving among the youth in our communities,” she said.
The organization first started with Trujillo attending local high schools to speak to students on the danger of reckless driving and it has grown so much that Street Racing Kills partnered with law enforcement and the Auto Club of Southern California.
Street Racing Kills have grown to a nationwide outreach, education, and advocacy due to the street racing and takeovers occurring all over the U.S. The organization provides traffic education safety courses and reckless driving intervention programs in Los Angeles.
Through the organization, Trujillo has met others who have lost their loved ones to street racing drivers, some have become involved with Street Racing Kills to help advocate and educate the community like Enamorado.
Lori Argumedo, the Community Relations Director for ‘Street Racing Kills’ discovered the organization after her niece, Bethany Holguin, passed away in 2019 due to street racing.
Holguin lost her life on May 11, 2019 after two young men engaged in an illegal street racing contest causing them to hit the vehicle she was in. “Not only was she someone’s daughter or niece, but she was a mother, leaving behind her 6-year-old daughter at the time,” Argumendo said.
Many community members in Compton are speaking out on the danger of street takeovers and that more stricter laws need to be taken seriously. Recently, on Feb 24, 2024, Holly J. Mitchell held a community meeting at Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park - Community Center to discuss the issues on takeovers that are impacting the community.
Street takeover bills and laws
California lawmakers have taken some action against illegal street racing and takeovers. Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3 into law, which could suspend the license of any driver caught practicing in these street events for up to six months. Penalties for illegal street gatherings will not begin until July 1, 2025
Under current law, anyone who participates in or encourages illegal street racing and takeovers can be jailed for up to 90 days and fined up to $500. With AB 3, courts now have the power to impose the above penalties and suspend an offender’s driver’s license for 90 days to six months.
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law in October and it officially went into effect on January 1, penalties for illegal street gatherings will not begin until July 1, 2025.
Martin said that there are many dangerous encounters for law enforcement, bystanders and the spectators and drivers who participate in these takeovers.“The danger of them [the spectators] getting hit, the looting in the stores and all the other stuff that's been going on along with it, it's a big public safety issue,””he said.
A takeover encounter that stuck out to Martin was in March 2021 at the intersection of Balboa Boulevard and San Fernando Mission Boulevard, due to an altercation he had with a male who was carrying a less lethal shotgun and struggling with another SREU officer.
He said that about three to four hundred spectators were surrounding the intersection where drivers were doing stunts in their vehicle. As the SREU approached the takeover, everyone attempted to leave the scene. SREU begin to make arrests to those they were able to get and cite or arrest them as warranted.
After a few minutes, a male who had his right hand in his pocket with a shotgun approached Martin, but he advised him to leave. Martin turned his back for a minute and he heard an officer struggling to take the less lethal shotgun from the male, he then ran to help.
“I struggled with the male for a minute, but the shotgun had intertwined in my feet, reducing my ability to move. The male locked my head between his body and left arm. I laid all the weight of my body on the male, pressing him to the ground to limit his movement,” Officer Martin said.
He said that multiple officers rushed to assist him and were finally able to grab the male and place him in handcuffs. “Not only are takeover events extremely dangerous, but putting innocent bystanders in risk of harm just shows the recklessness these events have and need to be stopped,” he said.
Using soical media for takeover meets
Encouraged by popular culture and social media, incidents from takeovers have risen to an all-time high in Los Angeles.
CHP and LAPD Bureaus use social media such as Instagram to find where the drivers are planning on doing the illegal activities. LAPD Sergeant Manuel Sanchez, head of the Street Racing Task Force, said that the participants of these street racing and takeovers are coordinated through Instagram, where most accounts are private so law enforcement wouldn’t know the location or any information.
However, police officials create Instagram accounts, posing as fellow takeover participants in order to get their follow request accepted and to know where these illegal activities are occurring. Officer Martin said, “they’re pretty aware of this stuff that we do to these guys, or they have their own intel on as well.”
I reached out to an organizer of takeovers in Los Angeles through instagram. He posted my message on their page, which has over 20k followers. Their followers messaged me asking me if I was law enforcement or the task force and saying “nice try task force, you guys suck.”
Understanding takeover participants
Enamorado visits the scenes of street takeovers to better understand the subculture that draws many young adults. For them, street takeovers are their community, even family.
“I did speak to a couple of participants, of street takeovers, and some spectators, and they have said that they find a sense of comfort in that environment,” Enamorado said. “One girl I spoke to explained to me that for a lot of them, this is their family, this is what they do.”
Raymond Olivares ghost tire memorial, inspired by the Ghost Bike, a bicycle roadside memorial placed where a cyclist had been killed or severely injured. (Photo courtesy of Cindi Enamorado.)
Enamorado said violent driving might be eliminated if young people could find more safe spaces for other activities in their community. "I feel like, yes, we should give them a space where they can go and do this. But we also need to bring in harsher penalties because there are limits to their hobby and their behavior.”
Martin explains how he has had conversations with the teens and young adults to understand the danger of them being in a takeover. “We have plenty of heart to heart talks with these kids. And we try to be empathetic towards them,” he said.
Enamorado said she won’t stop fighting for tougher penalties. “My end goal is to bring in a permanent solution and make sure our communities are safe again. No one should experience this pain.”
