Attorney: Man held in fatal Chatsworth street race was not the driver

A man accused of killing two people with his car during an illegal street race in Chatsworth was not driving the high-performance Mustang involved in the fatal crash, his attorney said Monday.

Henry Michael Gevorgyan, 21, was booked on suspicion of murder over the weekend after surrendering, but his attorney said he is actually blameless in the crash.

Police identified him as one of two drivers engaged in a nighttime speed contest last Thursday and distributed his photo -- which quickly rocketed across the Internet.

But video shot at the race shows Gevorgyan standing on the street between the two cars at the starting line, according to his attorney, Kate Hardie.

In the video, he appears to be flagging the racers to start the race, using a flashlight in one hand.

The video was posted on the popular Instagram account 818_1320, which uses the name Valley Racing. It has been posted numerous times on social media with the hashtag #FreeHendo, along with photos of Gevorgyan’s face and screen shots of the man in the video.

Gevorgyan was in custody Monday on $2-million bail. Hardie said she was with him Saturday when Gevorgyan surrendered at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division station.

“He’s terrified,” Hardie said. “He wants to do the right thing and come forward.”

Hardie added that Gevorgyan has had a traumatic few years, with both of his parents having recently died.

Hardie said her client had never been arrested before and that he’s a “very nice kid.”

Officers with the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division said Monday night that they were aware of the video and that the crash was still under investigation.

Two men were killed: Wilson Wong, 50, of Torrance, and Eric Siguenza, 26, of Los Angeles. A third person was injured.

The driver of a second racing vehicle also fled. Police did not immediately have information on whether that motorist had been identified.

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