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Ex-CHP officer, 2nd driver face murder charges for 605 Freeway crash that killed 4 in Norwalk

March 16, 2026

A former California Highway Patrol officer and a woman each face felony charges for allegedly causing a chain-reaction crash on the southbound 605 Freeway in Norwalk that killed four people last summer, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday, March 16.

Angelo Rodriguez, 24, who has since been fired by the CHP, and Iris Salmeron, 27, of Bellflower were each charged with four counts of second-degree murder, among other charges, for the July 20, 2025 crash, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

During a press conference in downtown Los Angeles, Hochman accused Rodriguez, who had been on the force since 2023, of driving upward of 130 mph in the carpool lane without his lights and sirens activated just before 1 a.m. when the victims’ car, a Nissan, legally moved into the carpool lane ahead of him. Rodriguez then slammed into the back of the Nissan, disabled it in the carpool lane.

It is unclear why the then-officer was excessively speeding, or what was his destination.

Rodriguez then moved over to the right shoulder of the freeway and sat in his car for three minutes without calling in the crash to dispatch, Hochman said. When he finally did, Rodriguez said the crash involved a CHP patrol car but failed to mention he was the one who caused it.

He then allegedly drove northbound to the nearest exit and turned around so he could get back to the site of the initial crash, which occurred before 1 a.m.

“He takes no steps during those three minutes to deal with the disabled Nissan he just crashed into,” Hochman said. “At one point, he gets out of the car and inspects the damage to his own car,” before driving back to the crash site.

Meanwhile, Salmeron was allegedly driving her Kia sedan about 110 mph in the carpool lane and slammed into the disabled Nissan, Hochman said. The force of that crash caused the Nissan to burst into flames, killing all four people inside.

Salmeron and a passenger in her car were hospitalized with major injuries; Salmeron was initially arrested on suspicion of DUI.

The victims were:

Juliana Hamori, 23, of Huntington Beach
Armond Del Campo, 24, of San Pedro
Jordan Partridge, 23, of Midway City
Samantha Skocilic, 22, of Westminster

They were headed home after attending a performance of the band of Montreal at The Belasco in downtown Los Angeles.

“To the victims’ families, I don’t know what to say,” Hochman said. “I can tell you this, we will bring the full weight of the law to bring the full measure of justice for the tragedy you have suffered.”

Prosecutors plan to present evidence during court proceedings detailing former Officer Rodriguez’s day before the crash, Hochman said, but he did not offer details. He also did not discuss any known motivation for Rodriguez to not radio in the crash, nor help the victims.

Salmeron, Hochman said, was allegedly driving drunk and had texted a friend earlier that night that she planned to get, as the DA apparently paraphrased it, “f’ed up.” Hochman said her blood-alcohol content measured well above the legal limit of .08%, but he did not offer specifics. She allegedly drank alcohol at a restaurant and a friend’s house.

Hochman said the four victims were still alive after Rodriguez hit their car, but the second crash killed them.

“These cases are some of the hardest cases I have to talk about, cases where this horrible tragedy could have been prevented had this officer not been driving at ridiculously high speeds for no reason whatsoever without his lights and sirens on,” Hochman said. “(And) had … Ms. Salmeron not been driving at (an) incredibly excessive speed, drunk while she crashed into this car.”

In August, the families of Hamori and Del Campo, who were dating, filed a claim against the CHP and Rodriguez alleging that if it wasn’t for Rodriguez’s actions that night, the four would still be alive. A claim is often a required precursor to a civil lawsuit.

Angie Reed, Del Campo’s mother, said at a press conference announcing the claim that her son had called twice and sent two messages at 12:56 a.m. that morning.

“letting you know we got in collision on 605 south,” one message read. “Don’t panic. we’re okay waiting for police.”

Two days prior to the crash, a former Los Angeles police officer was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison for driving drunk and causing a crash on the southbound 605 Freeway that killed a Riverside family of three. Edgar Verduzco drove at nearly 150 mph when he rear-ended a Nissan and a Scion south of Saratoga Street near Pico Rivera in September 2017, prosecutors said.

Orange County Register

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Ex-CHP officer, 2nd driver face murder charges for 605 Freeway crash that killed 4 in Norwalk

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