Family Files $50-Million Claim After Homeless Woman’s Death in Towed Van
When San Diego police investigated a 2023 crash involving a suspected drunk driver, the case initially followed a standard procedure: the driver was arrested, and the damaged van was towed to an impound yard. However, according to a $50-million claim filed against the city, the investigation should have gone much further.
Inside the parked van was Monica Cameroni De Adams, a 65-year-old woman experiencing homelessness, who was sleeping in the middle row when the vehicle was struck. The claim alleges that police officers were negligent in their actions, failing to discover Cameroni De Adams, who had sustained injuries requiring medical attention.
It wasn’t until about a month later, when an employee at the tow yard noticed a “pungent smell” emanating from the wrecked 2001 Honda Odyssey, that Cameroni De Adams’ body was discovered, according to the claim.
“In our assessment, she died some time after impact and probably perished in the tow yard,” said John Carpenter, an attorney with the firm Carpenter and Zuckerman who is representing Cameroni De Adams’ family. “The officers and the tow truck operators failed to take any kind of inventory, or to see if there was a live person inside.”
The crash occurred on November 5, 2023, just after 1 a.m. in the 5000 block of Clairemont Drive in San Diego, according to the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit. A spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department and the city said they could not comment on potential litigation.
A collision report included in the claim, states that the crash sent the van forward into a parked vehicle. The impact pushed the van’s rear door into the middle row, where Cameroni De Adams was reportedly sleeping.
Carpenter said it’s unclear how, or why, officers and the tow truck operators failed to find Cameroni De Adams inside the van. Body camera footage of the incident has been requested, but denied so far by the city, he said.
“There’s zero excuse for them to not have done a cursory examination to see if anyone was inside,” Carpenter said.
A report of the incident noted that the driver, Jordan Lopez, who rear-ended the van, appeared to be slurring his words and had difficulty standing while police spoke with him. Lopez has since pleaded guilty to DUI causing great bodily injury.
The two parked vehicles involved in the crash were towed “to avoid further vandalism,” the report notes, and officers attempted to contact their owners but were unsuccessful. The report does not state how officers attempted to reach the owners, including Cameroni De Adams, the owner of the van. The report does not state whether officers looked inside the vehicles before having them towed.
On November 14, 2023, Natalia Danielle Cameroni-Adams filed a missing persons report for her mother after she had sent messages the previous day trying to wish her a happy birthday, but did not hear back. Cameroni De Adams was found three weeks later on December 6, “wedged under miscellaneous items in the vehicle’s middle row,” according to the claim.
The autopsy report notes she had suffered several injuries, including rib fractures, a fracture in her spine, and a broken arm. The most likely cause of her injuries, according to the report, was blunt force trauma.
