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Daniel Garcia

Age : 25

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/25/2021

Location : U.S. Highway 101 near Dos Pueblos Canyon Road

City : Goleta area

County : Santa Barbara

State : California

Agency : California Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Daniel Backe; Bodgan Vysochin

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Bystander killed when a vehicle pursued by CHP officers at speeds exceeding 100 mph crossed the median and struck his vehicle head-on; the original reason for the pursuit has not been established.
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NARRATIVE:
On 08/25/2021, 25-year-old Daniel Garcia of Santa Maria was killed when a Volkswagen Jetta fleeing California Highway Patrol officers crossed the center median of U.S. Highway 101 near Dos Pueblos Canyon Road and crashed head-on into the Ford Expedition in which Garcia was traveling.
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CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin were pursuing the Volkswagen driven by Natalia Kyme Stallworth northbound on Highway 101. A subsequent wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Garcia's parents alleged that the pursuit reached speeds exceeding 100 mph.
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Stallworth crossed the center median and entered the southbound lanes traveling the wrong direction. Her Volkswagen struck the Ford Expedition occupied by Garcia and his girlfriend, 23-year-old Eryka Lopez. Both vehicles caught fire. Garcia, Lopez and Stallworth died at the scene.
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Garcia and Lopez were a young Santa Maria couple. Lopez's aunt, Nora Rodriguez, publicly identified Garcia as her niece's boyfriend. Their families established a joint fundraiser to pay for their funeral expenses.
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DISPOSITION:
Garcia's parents, Genaro Garcia Leon and Teresa De Jesus Garcia, subsequently brought a wrongful-death lawsuit against the State of California, CHP and other defendants. Their complaint identified CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin and alleged that their high-speed pursuit of Stallworth contributed to the fatal collision.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin were identified in subsequent civil litigation as the officers who pursued Stallworth.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.santabarbara.courts.ca.gov/tentative-ruling/23cv03682
https://www.noozhawk.com/bill_macfadyen_fatal_fiery_crashes_take_terrible_toll_highway_101_20210827/
https://www.independent.com/2021/08/27/victims-from-wednesdays-101-incidents-identified/
https://keyt.com/news/traffic/2021/08/26/sheriffs-office-identifies-4-killed-in-early-morning-crashes-on-hwy-101/
https://www.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com/obituaries/Daniel-Garcia-And-Eryka-Lopez