The families of two people who died in a fiery crash on the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway in Norwalk that also killed two others announced a damages claim against the California Highway Patrol Tuesday, alleging an officer set off the deadly chain of events.
The crash occurred just before 1 a.m. July 20 on the freeway just north of Rosecrans Avenue. According to attorneys, a CHP cruiser rear-ended a Nissan sedan with four people inside — including Julie Hamori, 23, and Armand Del Campo, 24 — leaving the Nissan disabled in the fast lane of the freeway.
The attorneys contend the CHP officer moved the patrol vehicle off the freeway, but never deployed any flares or warning lights, leaving the disabled Nissan on the roadway, where it was struck several minutes later by an alleged drunken driver. The Nissan burst into flames, killing all four people inside.
CHP officials said after the crash that the Nissan had been in a crash with a CHP vehicle, and “while additional CHP officers responded,” the Nissan was struck by a Kia sedan.
“What we know is the CHP was driving in such a way that they caused a serious collision when they slammed into the back of Julie and (Armand’s) car,” attorney Thomas Feher said at a news conference outside the CHP station in Santa Fe Springs. “So significant that the car was disabled in the fast lane on the 605. We also know that at least seven minutes passed from the time of the first crash of the CHP slamming into the back of Julie’s car until the deadly crash.”
Attorneys contend leaving the disabled vehicle on the freeway without any sort of warning lights made it a “sitting duck.”
Del Campo’s mother, Angie Reed, told reporters her son sent her a text message after the first crash, assuring her that he wasn’t injured and they were waiting for police.
“And then hours later, I get a knock on my door telling me there’s been a terrible crash,” she said. “And I said, `I know, they’re fine, I have this text. What do you mean they’re not fine?’ I need to know what happened and we need to know now.”
The damages claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.
In a statement Tuesday, CHP officials said, “This was a heartbreaking tragedy, and our thoughts are with the families impacted by this incident. Both crashes remain under investigation. We are unable to provide further comment at this time.”