SAN DIEGO (CNS) — The family of a woman found dead inside her vehicle, which was towed to a San Diego impound lot after she was wounded in a crash, filed a lawsuit this week against the city of San Diego and its police department, among others.
Monica Liliana Cameroni de Adams' parked van was struck by an intoxicated driver on Nov. 5, 2023, but it wasn't until more than a month later, on Dec. 6, when her decomposing body was discovered at the tow yard.
The complaint claims Cameroni de Adams had "severe, but survivable" injuries, but responding police officers and towing employees did not look inside her van and instead had it transported to the tow yard, leaving her "trapped and entombed inside her vehicle."
Her family filed a missing persons report soon after she didn't respond to birthday wishes they sent her on Nov. 13, according to the lawsuit.
The intoxicated driver, Jordan Maximilian Lopez, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. He was criminally charged by local prosecutors, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to probation with a suspended six-year prison sentence earlier this year.
According to the lawsuit, it wasn't until October of 2024 that the family received the medical examiner's report regarding Cameroni de Adams' death and learned that police or tow employees "were involved in causing the death of Ms. Cameroni de Adams."
The complaint alleges police and the tow employees were negligent in transporting her vehicle without examining the interior, while Lopez is accused of negligently driving his vehicle. The police are further accused of failing to properly train its employees and negligent hiring, supervision and retention.
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