The families of two of the four people who died after a pair of crashes on the 605 Freeway last month announced they are filing a government claim against the California Highway Patrol and the state of California.
A government claim is filed by victims for damages believed to be caused by a state or its employees and is considered to be the first step in civil litigation.
The claim alleges that a CHP officer’s negligence was the “direct cause” of a collision that disabled the victims’ vehicle. That same officer then failed to secure the roadway after the first crash, which led to a second one.
The incident itself, which occurred around 1 a.m. on July 20 on the 605 near the 105 Freeway interchange in Norwalk, was initially thought to have been just one crash. However, authorities later confirmed that there were two separate crashes, the first involving a CHP cruiser and a Nissan occupied by four people. The second crash involved a Kia with two occupants – including an impaired driver – and the Nissan.
It was not initially known how much time transpired between the two crashes, but due to the force of the second collision between the Kia and Nissan, the latter car burst into flames, and all four people inside were killed.
It was later revealed that the quartet — Julie Hamori, her boyfriend Armand Del Campo, and their two friends, Jordan Partridge and Sam Skocilic – were all friends returning from a night out. According to Hamori’s aunt, one of the victims, Partridge, called her mother after the first crash with the CHP car as they were waiting inside the disabled vehicle for help.
However, in the middle of her sentence, the line went dead, the aunt, Kathy Sickel, told KTLA shortly after the incident.
The driver of the Kia who was found to be intoxicated was identified as 26-year-old Iris Salmeron. She was arrested and is facing multiple felony charges, including DUI.
Her passenger was not identified, and although both they and Salmeron were said to have sustained serious injuries in the crash, they both survived.
Just over a month after losing their loved ones, the families of the two who were likely to be married – Armand Del Campo and Julie Hamori – announced the filing of the government claim against both CHP and the state of California.
A press conference was held on Tuesday morning to announce the filing, with tearful family members providing gut-wrenching details on the tragedy and how it has affected them.
“My sister had to go through Julie’s room, and when she saw the wedding dress that she had bought with Armand’s mother, she said ‘It was perfect’,” Kathy Sickel said at Tuesday’s press conference while holding up a picture of her niece. “That wedding dress would have fit her perfectly.”
“It’s been five weeks of no answers…it’s been five weeks of silence [surrounding] the circumstances that led to the death of my son,” said Del Campo’s mother, Angie Reed, through tears. “Armand was at the pinnacle of his life…he had started a brand new job and had just finished his first week. He was really excited because it was going to give them the opportunity to start their lives.”
“They had beautiful, bright futures,” Reed added.
The family’s legal team did not mince words when speaking on the tragedy.
“The CHP [officer] was driving in such a way that that they caused a serious collision when they slammed into the back of Julie’s car, [it was so] significant that the car was disabled in the fast lane on the 605,” attorney Tom Feher said at the press conference, which was held outside CHP’s Santa Fe Springs Station. “We also know that at least seven minutes passed from the time of the first crash — the CHP slamming into the back of Julie’s car — until the deadly crash.”
Authorities had not previously disclosed how much time passed between the two collisions, and that lack of clarity is not helping the family with their grieving process.
“When I got the preliminary report and I took a look at it, and it says the CHP rear-ended Julie’s car and disabled it…but then in collision two, she gets hit from behind,” Sickel said. “Why wasn’t there a CHP car between Julie’s car, which they rear-ended, and the alleged drunk driver that hit her? Did they knock out my niece’s car and then [leave] and get themselves out of the way?”
As part of the claim, the families also want access to key evidence pertaining to the two crashes, including the vehicles themselves, data recorders and video footage.
The California Highway Patrol and the state of California have 45 days to respond to the government claim by either coming up with a settlement or rejecting the claim. If the latter happens, a lawsuit could be filed by the families.
Officials with the CHP did release a brief statement on the matter on Tuesday, saying both crashes remain under investigation while offering condolences to the families affected by the tragedy. They did not comment further.
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