Murder, attempted murder charges filed in California crash that left 3 teens dead, 3 injured

Anurag Chandra will appear in Riverside County Superior Court Thursday afternoon.

A 42-year-old Temescal Valley man was charged with murder and attempted murder Thursday, Jan. 23, after prosecutors said his angry pursuit of a car full of teens who played a doorbell ringing prank at his home ended with three of the boys dead and three injured.

Update: Arraignment of Temescal Valley man who faces triple murder charges postponed

Anurag Chandra was scheduled to enter his plea Thursday afternoon in downtown Riverside County Superior Court. He is charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said.

The prosecutor’s office said the boys were having a sleepover Sunday and, on a dare, drove in a Toyota Prius to a nearby home on Mojeska Summit Drive to ring a doorbell and run.

Chandra, who lived in the home where the prank was played, got into his Infiniti sedan and chased the youths in the Prius, authorities said

The California Highway Patrol said Chandra intentionally rammed the back of the Prius, forcing the driver to lose control and hit a tree at Temescal Canyon Road near Trilogy Parkway. Temescal Valley is a county area south of Corona.

The Riverside County Coroner’s Bureau identified those killed as Daniel Hawkins, 16,  Corona; Drake Ruiz, 16, Corona;  and Jacob Ivascu, 16, Riverside. The district attorney’s office on Thursday said the survivors included two boys ages 13 and 14, and the driver, who is 18.

Chandra remained in custody Thursday on a no-bail hold at Robert Preseley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.