Police arrest man for manslaughter 3 years after fatal head-on crash

A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing a fatal crash that killed a man exactly three years ago, police said Thursday.

Long Beach police say Ivan Olarte-Torres, 31, allegedly killed Roberto Rodriguez in a Jan. 29, 2023 Wrigley head-on crash.

In the crash, Olarte-Torres was driving a 2021 Hyundai Sonata northbound on Magnolia Avenue near Hill Street at a high rate of speed when he crashed into a 1996 Toyota Camry driven by Rodriguez that was headed southbound, police said in a news release posted just after the crash.

The force of the impact also caused Rodriguez’s car to hit several parked vehicles, police added.

Long Beach Fire Department personnel determined that Rodriguez had died at the scene, according to authorities. LBFD personnel also took Olarte-Torres to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.

LBPD Societal Crimes and Collision Investigations detectives arrested Olarte-Torres at his home in Whittier on Tuesday, just two days shy of the third anniversary of the crash, according to police.

A department spokesperson said the investigation took nearly three years because fatal traffic collisions can require years to complete and because Olarte-Torres was in critical condition following the crash and "required extended medical care."

Police booked Olarte-Torres at the Long Beach City Jail for vehicular manslaughter, according to the LBPD. His bail was set at $50,000, police said.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen the crash to call LBPD Collision Investigation Detectives at 562-570-7355.

There were 36 traffic fatalities reported in Long Beach in 2023, according to LBPD data. There have been four traffic fatalities reported in the city so far this year, with 58 reported in 2025, according to police statistics.