Family of Peninsula couple killed by alleged street racers files civil lawsuit
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - It has been 215 days since a street racing crash claimed the lives of a Peninsula couple, who were the parents of 7-year-old twin girls.
Greg Ammen and his wife Grace Spiridon left behind daughters Madison and Olivia after the last year's crash. Ammen's younger brother, Michael Ammen, said the days pass, but the pain persists.
"It was very tough to understand it and wake up the next morning and be like was that a terrible dream or was that reality. It was reality," he said.
On Wednesday, Michael Ammen and his lawyers filed a civil lawsuit targeting tho who allegedly caused the crash on the fateful night of Nov.4.
"In a tragedy like this, you try to determine who could have stopped it? And there were many, many, actors here who could have stopped this," said Attorney Naill McCarthy.
He said his brother, sister-in-law, and the couple's twin girls were headed home after dinner with their grandparents when tragedy struck.
2 drivers accused of murder for crash that killed married couple
Two drivers, including a teen, were arrested after allegedly killing the parents of twins while racing each other in Redwood City.
Investigators said 17-year-old Cesar Morales and 23-year-old Kyle Harrison started racing eachother down on a crowded El Camino Real.
"I was in my car and these two cars (went) speeding past. And this other car came down that way, and like, boom!," said a young man who witnessed the crash.
Morales, who was allegedly traveling well above the speed limit, broadsided the family’s car as it turned left onto Finger Avenue, killing both parents and slightly injuring the twins.
"The car of the minor was registered to the father. It was supped up for the purpose of drag racing," said McCarthy.
Ammen is suing both drivers, Morales' parents, and the minor passenger who were inside the two cars. The suit contends, "the defendants were drag racing with no regard for human life."
"The parents of the minor contributed to this incident," said Ammen's co-counsel Tamarah Prevost.
The San Mateo County district attorney is charging both drivers with second degree murder in the crash. He is also pushing for the juvenile, Cesar Morales, to be tried in adult court.
The Bay Area has seen an alarming increase in dangerous road stunts that sometimes end with heartbreaking consequences.
"In the Bay Area, it’s a tragic situation. The only question is, who’s next?," said McCarthy.
Michael Ammen is hopeful, for is nieces’ sake, the death of their parents and the lawsuit, will be a clarion call for civility and safety on the roads. This, as 215 days of emotional torment continue.
"It’s gonna be a part of me for the rest of my life," he said. "Those drivers chose to drag race…They had a choice. And they made their choice. We didn’t get a choice in this."
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Twitter, @JesseKTVU and Instagram, @jessegontv.