A man behind the wheel of a RV when it struck and killed a 9-year-old boy on an electric scooter last week has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.
In a criminal complaint filed late Monday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and obtained by NBC4 Investigates, 46-year-old Jimmy Pittman is charged in the Koreatown crash Thursday that killed 9-year-old Nadir Gavarrete and injured his 19-year-old brother, a passenger on the scooter.
The crash happened around 7:27 p.m. at the intersection of New Hampshire and 4th Street, the LAPD confirmed. The RV was southbound on New Hampshire when and about to turn left onto 4th Street when it collided with Nadir, according to the LAPD.
Law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates the driver did not have a valid license and voluntarily agreed to a blood draw after the crash.
Pittman was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of a drug causing injury. He pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $230,000.
He is due back in court Aug. 15.
The criminal complaint also listed previous felony convictions, mostly drug-related offenses, against Pittman in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties that date to December 2005.
Candles and flowers were left at the crash site in memory of Nadir. Neighbors told NBCLA the boy and his brother, whose father works as a street vendor, live with family in the neighborhood.