Relative blasts house arrest sentence in Peninsula street racing crash that killed couple

A then-teenage street racer who crashed and killed a couple in Redwood City—leaving their twin girls orphaned—was given 90 days of home detention, a sentence criticized by a relative of the victims as too light.

House arrest

What they're saying:

"We must hold everyone accountable," said Liza Spiridon, whose sister and brother-in-law were killed in the 2022 crash.

The same judge also declined to charge the teenager as an adult and found him responsible for vehicular manslaughter, not murder.

"It's also very concerning, the message it sends to other teen drivers, as well as street racers, especially as street racing has increased," Spiridon said Tuesday.

Fatal actions

What we know:

In November 2022, then 17-year-old Cesar Morales was driving his parents' Mercedes, racing a man in a BMW, when he crashed into Greg Ammen and Grace Spiridon's car on El Camino Real in Redwood City, killing the couple. Their twin 7-year-old girls survived.

Morales had been in Juvenile Hall until his 20th birthday earlier this month, when Judge Susan Etezadi of San Mateo County Superior Court sentenced him to electronic home detention with his parents.

Relatives ‘dissatisfied’

Big picture view:

"They are dissatisfied with the outcome, and we understand that," said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, referring to the victims' relatives. "I wish the law were different."

Wagstaffe had unsuccessfully asked the judge to have Morales tried as an adult. He said the judge could have sentenced him to an additional year in Juvenile Hall.

"We didn’t agree with her on this one. We thought— our belief was that she missed on this one, but that’s how the system works. Two sides argue, and the judge makes the call," Wagstaffe said.

The other driver, Kyle Harrison, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and to racing Morales and will be sentenced next month.

The judge, through a clerk, declined to comment on Tuesday because the case against Harrison is still pending.

Spiridon said she wants the couple remembered "for their kindness, their compassion, their love, their inclusivity."

While mourning their loved ones, Spiridon and her husband are now raising the 9-year-old girls.

"So we became instant parents," she said.

Wagstaffe said, "Every family should have people like them, willing to give up their home, their whole life down the coast and move up here, so the girls can continue to grow up in the home they were born in with their parents."

Spiridon wants young drivers to understand the dangers of speeding and racing in cars.

"I equate it to school shootings. Until we make any changes, it's going to keep happening, and it's going to increase. I equate a car to a weapon, just like a gun. You can treat a car like a weapon," she said.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan

Redwood CityCrime Files with Henry Lee