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Eryka Denise Lopez

Age : 23

Gender : Female

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 her vehicle head-on; the original reason for the pursuit has not been established.
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NARRATIVE:
On 08/25/2021, 23-year-old Eryka Denise Lopez 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 occupied by Lopez and her boyfriend, Daniel Garcia. Her full middle name is independently documented in contemporary Santa Maria death notices.
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CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin were pursuing the Volkswagen driven by Natalia Kyme Stallworth northbound on Highway 101. Subsequent civil litigation 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 collided head-on with the Ford Expedition. Both vehicles were engulfed in fire. Lopez, Garcia and Stallworth were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Lopez and Garcia were a couple from Santa Maria. Lopez's aunt, Nora Rodriguez, spoke publicly about their deaths, and family members established a joint fundraiser to help pay for the couple's funeral arrangements. Lopez and Garcia also share a memorial page through Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary in Santa Maria.
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DISPOSITION:
Daniel Garcia's parents subsequently filed a wrongful-death action against the State of California, CHP and other defendants. The lawsuit identified CHP Officers Daniel Backe and Bodgan Vysochin as the officers involved in the pursuit of Stallworth.
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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.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com/obituaries/Daniel-Garcia-And-Eryka-Lopez
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/