REDWOOD CITY, CA — A jury in San Mateo County awarded $33 million this week to twin girls whose parents were killed after being struck by a teen driver who was street racing in Redwood City in 2022.
The jury found Cesar Morales, who was 17 years old at the time of the crash, negligent and at fault for the crash that killed Greg Ammen and Grace Spiridon of San Carlos. The verdict also found Morales' parents, Arnold Morales and Susana Salto Alvarez, liable in the crash for ignoring warning signs of their son's driving behavior.
"We are hopeful today's verdict serves as a wake-up call to Bay Area parents," said attorney Niall McCarthy in a statement after Tuesday's verdict. McCarthy works for the Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy law firm that represented the Ammen and Spiridon family.
"Here, tragically, two young girls no longer have parents because of the Morales family's decisions," he said.
On Nov . 4, 2022, Morales was engaged in street-racing with another driver, Kyle Harrison. Ammen and Spiridon were struck and killed while their car was turning left on El Camino Real in Redwood City.
Morales was tried as a minor and convicted of vehicular manslaughter. He was sentenced to 90 days of electronic home monitoring. Harrison was serving an eight-year sentence for the crime when he died inside a San Mateo County jail last year.
Tuesday's verdict follows a three-week trial where a jury heard evidence that Morales was driving between 105 mph and 110 mph on the night of the crash. Morales also had a prior citation for driving over 100 mph, a citation that Morales' parents testified they were unaware of, according to Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy.
The jury determined that Morales' parents were aware of their son's unsafe driving habits and that they failed to intervene to prevent his behavior.
"Parents need to do more than simply provide a car and hope for the best," McCarthy said. "They need to act when it is apparent their child needs a course correction."
The jury awarded the young girls nearly $19 million in economic damages in addition to $7 million each for noneconomic damages, totaling $33 million.
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