Driver Accused of Ramming LA Crowd Faces 74 Charges

DA says Fernando Ramirez will be charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 21, 2025 1:30 AM CDT
Updated Jul 22, 2025 7:12 PM CDT
Driver Who Plowed Into LA Crowd Has Criminal History: Cops
Law enforcement investigate the scene where a vehicle rammed into a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, July 19, 2025 injuring several people.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
UPDATE Jul 22, 2025 7:12 PM CDT

A driver accused of plowing into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub early Saturday will face 74 criminal charges, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday. Hochman said Fernando Ramirez, 29, will face 37 counts of attempted murder—one for each injured victim—and 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, his vehicle, KTLA reports. "When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians," Hochman said, per the AP, adding that "but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident." Ramirez was attacked by bystanders after the incident and police are still trying to find the gunman who shot him in the lower back.

Jul 21, 2025 1:30 AM CDT

A man suspected of driving his car into a crowd on a sidewalk in Los Angeles, injuring at least 36 people, has a criminal history that includes a conviction for felony battery, officials said Sunday. The driver, identified by police as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez, was attacked by bystanders after the crash early Saturday in east Hollywood and paramedics later found that he had been shot. Police were still searching for the suspected shooter, described as a man with a goatee in a blue Dodgers jacket, the AP reports. Ramirez, of San Clemente, California, was recovering and was expected to face a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Los Angeles police Capt. Ben Fernandes told KNBC-TV on Sunday that Ramirez was sentenced in 2020 for attacking a man outside of a Whole Foods grocery store in June 2019. He was on parole at the time of Saturday's crash, but it's unclear whether it was in connection with the 2019 attack or another case. Ramirez has had at least 11 criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, KNBC reports, including a pending DUI case. In January 2022, he was charged with felony domestic battery and entered a not guilty plea. That case remains open.

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A line of people—mostly women—were waiting to enter the Vermont Hollywood event venue around 2am when they were struck by a Nissan Versa that also hit a food vending cart and valet stand, Fire Capt. Adam VanGerpen said Saturday. At least 36 people were treated for injuries including fractures and lacerations, police said Sunday, and seven were reportedly in critical condition. It was not immediately clear if Ramirez was shot before or after the crash or why he drove into the crowd, but sources claim he was intoxicated and had been thrown out of the club for fighting before he got into his car.

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