Wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with Redwood City street-racing crash that killed parents of twin girls
REDWOOD CITY – A pair of Redwood City men already facing criminal accusations have now been hit with a wrongful-death lawsuit for their alleged roles in a street-racing crash that killed the parents of twin girls last year.
The suit also names the parents of one man, who was 17 years old at the time, and two others who were in his car and “egged on” the race, said Niall McCarthy, an attorney for the girls.
“What we’re trying to do with the lawsuit is hold everyone who has responsibility accountable so you can see some change in behavior in the future,” said McCarthy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP. “The family is hopeful that this lawsuit will shed some light on this conduct and maybe the next driver will stop and think and do something differently.”
The fatal crash happened around 8 p.m. Nov. 4, 2022, at the intersection of El Camino Real and Finger Avenue in Redwood City. According to the lawsuit, Gregory Ammen, 44, and Grace Spiridon, 42, both of San Carlos, were heading home with their 7-year-old twin girls when their Chevrolet Bolt was broadsided by Cesar Morales’ 2005 Mercedes-Benz E55.
The couple was killed in the collision, but their girls survived. According to the lawsuit, one of the girls sustained a fractured arm that required surgery.
Kyle Harrison, 23, was racing Morales in his 2018 BMW M3 at the time, the suit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, Morales and Harrison pulled up to a stoplight at El Camino Real and Howard Avenue in San Carlos and started revving their engines, while two passengers in Morales’ car, identified in the suit only as E.S. and J.M., urged the pair to race. McCarthy said Morales and Harrison did not know each other.
Morales and Harrison hit speeds of 80 to 100 mph on El Camino Real before the Mercedes slammed into the Chevrolet, which was thrown 100 feet, the lawsuit alleges. The speed limit on that stretch of El Camino Real, McCarthy noted, is 35 mph.
“You had a case here where people were choosing getting a thrill from drag racing over the safety of citizens who were in the area,” McCarthy said. “It’s really just a tragedy.”
Morales, along with his two passengers, was taken to an area hospital and later arrested in connection with the crash. Harrison did not stop at the scene, but he was arrested two weeks later, according to the suit.
Harrison is still awaiting scheduling of a preliminary hearing to determine whether his case will go to a trial. In December, he pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and four counts of engaging in a speed contest causing injury, according to court records. Morales is scheduled for a hearing later this month to determine whether he will face second-degree murder charges as an adult or a juvenile.
Morales’ parents, Susana Salto Alvarez and Arnold A. Morales, are also named in the lawsuit. The suit alleges Morales’ parents owned the Mercedes, allowed their son to modify it and knew about his “dangerous proclivity for speeding and racing cars.”
George Eshoo, an attorney representing the Morales family, declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
The Mercedes was modified with a smaller supercharger pulley, which allowed the supercharger to spin faster and produce more power, and had its catalytic converters and mufflers removed, which made the car louder and possibly more powerful, according to the suit.
“At some point you’ve got to actually parent and say, ‘No, this ain’t going to happen,’ ” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said Morales’ father also went to a mechanic shop near the scene of the crash and tried to obtain surveillance footage of the collision, an act he called “bizarre.”
“This is someone who is actively trying to disrupt the police investigation,” he said.
Arnold Morales declined to comment to the Bay Area News Group in an interview Thursday morning, saying it was out of “respect and sensitivity” for the Ammen family.
McCarthy said his clients are not seeking a specific dollar amount.
“You have two girls who are going to need money for their education, money for healthcare,” McCarthy said. “All of the things that the parents would’ve provided over their lives are now gone.”