Felon who allegedly barreled car through LA nightclub crowd faces 37 attempted murder charges
Fernando Ramirez, 29, of San Clemente, faces 37 charges of attempted murder and 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, all felonies, from a crash that left 37 injured outside the Vermont Hollywood nightclub Saturday night.
"We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community and, but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident," LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, according to WPLG.
Hochman said eight people suffered "great bodily injury."
"When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians that were in front of him on the sidewalk at 2 a.m.," Hochman said.
The victims were mostly women waiting to enter the Hollywood nightclub when Ramirez allegedly ran them down in his Nissan Versa. The vehicle also traveled over a food vending cart and a valet stand.
Adding to the chaos, bystanders reportedly pulled Ramirez from his disabled vehicle and assaulted him. During the altercation, a man pulled a gun and shot Ramirez. Police are still searching for that suspect.
Ramirez has a lengthy criminal history and was out of prison on parole at the time of the crash.
KNBC reported he was convicted of felony battery from an attack on a man outside a Whole Foods in 2019 and sentenced to prison the following year. It is unclear whether his parole release was related to that conviction.
The report said Ramirez has at least "11 criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies" since 2014, citing the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
The 2014 charge was gang-related, and Ramirez has a pending 2024 drunk driving case and a pending 2022 domestic violence case that are both unresolved.
He faces life in prison if convicted on the charges related to the car ramming.
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